Checkmate
by H.A.R.M.Girl
Summary: Detailed summary inside. There's a serial killer on the loose, and he's killing off detectives...but why? Could he know Shinichi/Conan's secret? And how is Kaitou Kid involved? Feat. Hattori Heiji, Kuroba Kaito, and Hakuba Saguru. Canon pairings
1. Bishop

**I don't own Detective Conan/Magic Kaito.**

**Pairings: Canon (Shinichi/Ran, Heiji/Kazuha, Kaito/Aoko)**

**Summary: There's a serial killer on the loose in Tokyo. His pattern? Each victim represents a piece from the game of chess. His victims? Famous detectives, as well as the one person dearest to each of them. As the killer swiftly works his way through his hit list, it becomes apparent that his list culminates with his true target: Kudou Shinichi. But that isn't what concerns the shrunken detective most; he also has reason to believe that the killer knows his identity. Could the killer simply be a deranged psychopath bent on revenge for some perceived wrong that Shinichi had committed? Or could he be from the Black Organization itself? And what does Kaitou KID have to do with all of this?**

**Just a quick side note: the first half of this chapter is first person so you can't tell the gender of the culprit, but the rest of the story will be 3****rd**** person.**

…**I guess that about covers it. On with the story!**

-Checkmate-

I uncapped the black marker and set the tip to the sleek surface of the photograph, clenching the cap in my teeth. A grin slowly slid across my face as I methodically drew a slash across the photo, upper right corner to lower left. I observed without a hint of remorse that the woman in the photograph had been pretty. I hadn't been able to tell what she had looked like the last time I met her; I had jumped her from behind, and it had been especially dark to begin with, considering it had been a night of a new moon. She hadn't put up much of a fight, but she was still more difficult than her detective counterpart; I had underestimated the amount of strength needed to strangle a middle-aged woman with a chain of plastic beads, and overestimated the amount needed to run a robust male through with an iron stake.

I placed the woman's picture atop that of my other victim, her former lover. The stacked pair of marked photographs rested beside a second stack, five times larger and made up of unmarked photos. My hit list.

I reached for an envelope before hesitating; my basement was too dark to write. Scrambling for the remote, I switched on the television set in the corner. I was going to anyway—they should have found the bodies by now.

"This just in…" The anchorwoman for this particular news channel was blonde, but didn't have a foreign accent; she was most likely of a mixed background. I usually preferred to watch Mizunashi Rena, but any station would do this time. "…Mogi Harufumi, a well-known detective, was found dead in his home only hours ago. The police are ruling it as a homicide, and based on the traces of iron found on his clothes, they have determined the murder weapon to be an iron cross with at least one point sharpened into a stake. The body was discovered only forty minutes after the discovery of the body of his fiancé, Fujioka Rei. The police are assuming that the murders are connected, though the woman seems to have been strangled as opposed to stabbed. If they are, in fact, connected, the letter found in Fujioka Rei's home may shed some light on the situation. It lacks a return address and appears to be some sort of code, which investigators have yet to crack."

A photograph of the code appeared in the upper left corner of the screen; I chuckled to myself. Never before had my codes gotten publicity like this. And this one wasn't even much of a code; a base knowledge of English etymology would do to solve it. But I had made it easier on purpose; what fun is a game if the players can't get past the first level?

And now was the time to begin preparation of the second level. I handled the envelope with gloved hands as I slipped the next code inside and affixed the typed address sticker of my next victim to the front.

The countdown had begun. The only question now was how many would die before the rest would understand the pattern.

xXx

"What's the code?" Edogawa Conan questioned eagerly before Mouri Kogoro had even put down the phone.

"Oi! Were you eavesdropping?" Mouri glared at the nosy freeloader. When had he gotten there, anyway? When Megure-keibu had called asking for advice about the code from that recent double homicide, Conan had been in his room….

The boy ignored him. "Well, what is it? I didn't hear."

Mouri shrugged. "It probably has nothing to do with the murders."

Conan almost rolled his eyes at the excuse—by now he had come to understand that when Mouri claimed that something was irrelevant, it usually meant that he didn't understand it.

"So what is it? Just for fun," the shrunken teenager tried to ask as innocently as possible.

Mouri hesitated, but finally grabbed a stray beer-stained napkin from the corner of his desk, clicked a pen, and scrawled "THE GREEK 'OVERSEER'" in English across his makeshift paper. "This," he grunted irritably. "See? It doesn't make a bit of sense. The most we can get out of it is that the culprit can speak English."

"Did anyone check what 'overseer' is in Greek?" At Mouri's blank look, Conan elaborated: "The 'overseer' part is in quotations, see? Maybe mentioning 'Greek' is a clue to translate it."

"…Hm. I guess we can see what it is, but I don't think it'll get us anywhere," Mouri muttered with a touch of annoyance as he reached for his computer.

"It's '_episkopos_.'"

Mouri froze. "What did you just say?"

"'Overseer' in Greek. It's '_episkopos_.'"

Mouri's eye twitched. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but quickly snapped it shut. He sighed, resolving to, once again, let it go. "…I suppose you saw that on TV?"

"Uh…yeah! It was a really cool show about ancient civilizations. They talked about Rome, too!" Conan giggled nervously. _Actually, I learned that word when I went to Athens a few years ago on spring break with my parents_. _It was carved into a wall, along with a bunch of other words, and I asked Otou-san what they meant_. _We spent the next hour trying to hunt down someone who could tell us what the phrase was in Japanese (or at least English), so now I know exactly how to say "I saw the overseer yesterday in the temple" in Greek_. _Talk about lucky breaks_...

"Whatever," Mouri huffed. "I still don't see what that has to do with anything."

"Well, the Latin word _episcopus_ is derived from _episkopos_. In ancient Rome, _episcopus_ was the title given to officials of the Catholic Church who governed over regions of the Church—modern-day _bishops_. The fact that the clue's in English probably means that the answer's in English, so 'bishop' is the answer!" ..._Learned that one when I started studying Latin (I __dropped it after a year, but that's irrelevant)_.

There was a stunned silence. Then, "_I wasn't asking you!_"

"But—_ow_!"

"Otou-san!" At that moment, Ran stepped through the door, having returned from shopping with Sonoko just in time to witness Conan moaning on the floor, nursing the lump on his head. She rushed to the boy and began to caringly massage his head where he had been hit. "Are you alright, Conan-kun?"

Conan nodded, his cheeks slightly pink in embarrassment.

"Otou-san! Why would you hit him?" Ran shot an outraged glare at her father and wrapped her arms protectively around her surrogate little brother.

"He was getting in the way," Mouri huffed, affronted but still a bit wary—he knew that if his daughter became angry enough, she would have no qualms about practicing her flipping axe kick on her own father….Sure, she would apologize later, but that wouldn't dull the pain.

"But Ran-neechan, I solved it!" Conan whined, desperately appealing to the person most likely to trust him. "I solved the code! Oji-san needs to call the police back!"

Ran's eyes wandered from Conan to her father, than back to Conan.

"…What code?"


	2. Rook

**Once more, I own nothing. And the chapters should get longer, I promise! And I'm taking so long with the updates because I'm writing out chapters and planning ahead of time, so instead of updating the first five chapters with in five days while the next couple chapters have months between the updates, I'm trying to update on a set pattern (which I'm thinking will be about once a week).**

**And, in case anyone was wondering, yes, in this chapter I did allow a random television show to take on the Shounen Tantei's usual function of "one who indirectly gives Conan extremely convenient hints that just-so-happen to help him solve the case."**

"_Greek overseer," meaning "bishop,"_ Conan mentally reviewed, absentmindedly kicking a tennis ball around the room that he shared with Mouri. Ever since that ugly lamp that Ran absolutely hated had "accidentally" been taken out by a soccer ball, Mouri had banned the use of any ball larger than his fist inside the agency.

_What does it mean? What am I missing?_ A hint of doubt tugged insistently at a corner of the child's unnaturally advanced brain: _Could it be that the code has nothing to do with the murders?_

"No," Conan instinctively spoke aloud. _It's too strange to be unrelated; from the little that I heard Megure-keibu say over the phone, the paper on which the code was written was completely sterile, save a single set of prints from the victim's right hand_. _That is __not_ _normal_.

Conan uttered a short, frustrated cry. "What am I _missing_?"

"Conan-kun? Are you alright?" Ran's head immediately appeared in the doorway. She was clutching her cell phone with one hand, and using the other to cover the speaker.

"Uh, yeah, Ran-neechan. Sorry." Conan laughed nervously and hastened to change the subject. "Who're you talking to?

"Kazuha-chan." Ran smiled, evidently relieved, and brought the phone back up to her ear. "You still there, Kazuha-chan? Oh, no, it was nothing—he's fine. So, you were saying that you guys are coming tomorrow?"

Conan bit back a groan. He did _not_ feel like dealing with his overly-eager Kansai counterpart right now. Besides, he already had the bishop code to crack; he really didn't need _another_ murdered corpse on his plate—not to mention that when Hattori if present, they would probably come across said corpse by the most unusual and flamboyant means possible. Conan chuckled wryly as he recalled that particular case in which the murder victim _literally_ fell out of the sky to slam into the hood of the car in which he and Hattori had been riding.

"Really?" The surprise in Ran's tone drew Conan's attention back to the present setting. "What is it?" There was a pause as Ran listened attentively to Kazuha's response.

"What is what, Ran-neechan?" Conan question, eyes gleaming innocently and tone imbued with a hint of a childish whine for good measure.

'Hold on, Conan-kun,' Ran mouthed, then raised a confused eyebrow at something she heard over the phone. "But Kazuha-chan, what does that mean? …Are you going to show Hattori-kun? …Well, where is he? …Ah, I see. Would you like me to show it to Otou-san, then?"

But this time, Conan had dashed over to Ran in an effort to listen in on the other end of the conversation. He hadn't been successful in hearing Kazuha's words, but he spotted an opportunity in the form of Ran's offer. He tugged on her sleeve. "Ran-neechan? If you want, I can show whatever it is to Oji-san for you."

Ran nodded to him dismissively as she spoke to Kazuha. "Okay, can you hold for a few seconds while I tell Conan-kun what to show him?" She paused for Kazuha's response before pulling the phone from her ear and kneeling to speak to the much shorter child.

"Kazuha-chan got a letter in the mail," she whispered. "There was no return address, and the only thing inside was a piece of paper with a few words on it. At first she thought that Hattori-kun had sent it as a prank, but it wasn't his handwriting on the paper. She thinks it's some sort of code since it doesn't make any sense, but Hattori-kun's at kendo practice, so she wants me to see what Otou-san can make of it."

_Code?_ "What is it?" Conan asked forcefully. It could have something to do with the bishop code….

Ran hesitated, slightly taken aback by the urgency in the boy's tone. "Uh, 'food-gathering thunder bird.' It doesn't make much sense in and of itself, but it's also weird because 'food-gathering' was in English, but 'thunder' and 'bird' were written in kanji. Also, the words were all written horizontally and had to be read left to right."

"Got it!" Conan said cheerfully and darted past Ran out the door, ostensibly to find Mouri.

_Food-gathering thunder bird,_ Conan mused as he raced down the stairs to the detective agency. As expected, he found Mouri snoring loudly at his desk, face flushed, empty beer bottles scattered around his head. The television was still blaring; however, Okino Yoko's program had ended half an hour ago, to be replaced by some documentary on mythology.

"_Thunder bird"_…_it's got to be referring to something Japanese, considering the way in which it was written_. Conan scanned the room, not quite knowing what he should have been looking for. _It could be anything; that shop around the corner, that electric bird-thing from that kids' anime that Ran used to love_…Conan raked his fingers through his bangs in frustration. _But none of those make sense_. _Maybe I should try to work out the first part instead_….

"…was said to live in a pine tree…" Conan glared at the blaring television; it hadn't bothered him before the volume had interrupted his concentration. He allowed himself to be momentarily distracted from Kazuha's code as he moved to press the set's power button. However, upon spotting the image onscreen, Conan froze, his thumb hovering over the switch. …_That was awfully convenient_.

"Of course," he muttered to himself, staring at the depiction of the mythical bird soaring across the screen. "Raicho, the thunder bird of Japanese mythology. So it's a food-gathering _raicho_." Conan returned his attention to the television, muting the volume as he studied the bird intently. It was a drawing, remarkably detailed, of what appeared to be a crow. But it wasn't a crow. Conan couldn't explain how he knew, but describing the bird as a crow just felt…wrong, somehow. If it were a real bird, though, it would have no doubt been in the crow family, _Corvae_….

_Wait_. The metaphorical light bulb flashed on. _Maybe that's what 'food-gathering' means_:_ the scientific name __corvus frugilegus__! __And if that's the case, the answer would be_—_I've got it! _…_But_…_that means_… Conan's brief satisfaction in solving the code was quickly replaced with panic. _Hattori!_

"_RAN!_" Conan shouted, not bothering with an honorific in his anxiety. The shouting startled Mouri into consciousness, but Conan had already vanished by the time he was blinking the sleep out of his eyes. The boy sprinted up the stairs as fast as he could, still shouting Ran's name.

"Conan-kun, what's wrong?"

Conan didn't answer, instead snatching Ran's phone from her hand. "Kazuha-neechan!" he said breathlessly into the phone. "Find Hattori-niichan! You're both in danger!"

"What? Why?" Conan head Kazuha gasp.

"Just find Heiji-niichan and get to the police! I—uh, _Oji-san_ solved the code! He says to get to the police before you're killed!"

"_What?_ But Conan-kun—" Conan hung up on the confused girl as Ran stared at him with wide eyes.

"Conan-kun…what's going on?" Ran whispered.

"'Thunder bird' refers to raicho," Conan said gravely.

"From the myths?"

He nodded. "Raicho looks similar to a blackbird, a crow. Of the family _Corvae_. The 'food-gathering' part indicates the second part of the scientific name, _corvus frugilegus_, of a certain bird in the crow family. The bird with that scientific name is a 'rook' in English. And the answer has to be in English." Conan paused, realizing that his tone was getting too knowing and serious. "Uh…at least that's what Oji-san said! He said that it could either be in English or Japanese, since those are the two languages used for the code, but it has to be English since the words were written like in English: left to right and horizontal!"

Ran nodded. "Oh, I see! But…why does that mean Kazuha-chan and Hattori-kun are in trouble?"

"You know that case at the Twilight Palace? With all the other detectives and Kaito Kid?" Conan paused as Ran nodded. "One of the detectives, that Mogi guy, died the other day. His fiancé did too. At his fiancé's house, investigators found a note with a code on it. Megure-keibu just called Oji-san the other day for help cracking it. I—_he_ deduced that the answer was 'bishop.'"

"Bishop?" Ran repeated, her head cocked to the side in confusion.

"And when Oji-san solved Kazuha's code, he realized that there is a connection between 'bishop' and 'rook'…"

"Chess!" Ran gasped. "They're chess pieces!"

Conan nodded. "And there doesn't seem to be any order in which the culprit is attacking people. Also…" Conan hesitated. He didn't want to worry Ran by saying it out loud, but the pattern was so obvious, she would no doubt get it eventually. "…it's too early to judge, but considering the attacks so far, it would seem…it would seem that he's targeting detectives. And one person close to them."


	3. Rook Part 2

**Um…yeah, my update period is kind of being extended to 2 weeks now…I just want to be writing the chapters in advance, you know? So if worst comes to worst, I still have something to post…**

**So, anyway, still don't own anything, and if you're wondering why I'm switching between calling a certain Kansai detective "Hattori" and "Heiji," it's because the story is third person limited, so whatever character any given section is following, the other characters are named as the narrating character knows them.**

Kazuha stared at her phone, petrified with shock and fear. …_Danger?_ "Heiji!" she gasped. "I gotta warn Heiji!" She gingerly set the code clutched in her left hand on the kitchen counter, keeping it apart from the other mail; the police might be able to get prints off of it. Kazuha was about to instinctively call for her father, but realized with a sinking feeling that both her parents were at that ceremony for police officers, in which both her father and Heiji's were being honored.

And that meant Heiji's parents were gone, too. Kazuha vaguely remembered her parents informing her a few hours previously that cell phones were banned from the ceremony they were attending. No car. No parents.

_My best chance is to call the police and try to run to Heiji; he's only fifteen minutes away if I run_, Kazuha decided, shoving her phone into her pocket determinedly. She grabbed her jacket and sprinted out the front door and into the night, which was illuminated only by a thin crescent moon.

xXx

Choking back a sob, Kazuha inhaled deeply in an attempt to calm herself as she ran. She had called the police, but the fact that they had refused to believe her story until she gave them her last name had cost her precious time; at the rate they were going, she would reach Heiji first, despite the police's access to a car. And Heiji had to be contacted as soon as possible (she had already tried phoning him, to no avail); Conan hadn't specifically stated _when_ they might be killed, but the potential murderer could get to Heiji in the few extra minutes that it took the police to arrive—or he could already _be_ attacking Heiji….

The dramatic thought disturbed her, made her panic—but it gave her bursts of adrenaline, while simultaneously pressuring her to the extent of tears. _Heiji's life may be in my hands_. But by now she was approaching Heiji's kendo studio—she choked back another sob, this one of relief. She sprinted down the sidewalk bordering the edges of a street lined on either side by various business, restaurants, apartment complexes—and, of course, Heiji's kendo studio. She was almost there, could see the front door swinging open in the distance, illuminated by streetlamps and the sparse light of the moon.

But…what was that? Kazuha tensed as she ran, staring up in foreboding at the unfamiliar structure atop the studio. It appeared to be…a pile of rocks? No, more like assorted boulders. Maybe it was a new sculpture; as Kazuha neared the building, she spotted a figure lurking behind the pile—maybe he was the sculptor? _No_, Kazuha told herself firmly. _My instincts are almost always right, and I get the feeling that those rocks are meant for something more than decoration_.

"Got it, Sensei! See ya later!" The voice cut through the silence of the night as a figure stepped out of the studio's front door. Kazuha gasped; it was Heiji's voice. She was only meters away, she could make it! She could now make out Heiji's features, his quizzical expression as he noticed her tearing down the street. She could also make out the figure on the roof pushing down on some kind of lever wedged under the pile of stone….

"Kazu—?" Heiji began, before he had the air knocked out of him as his oldest friend barreled into his chest.

"_Heiji, watch out!_"

xXx

The atmosphere in the Mouri household the next morning was unsurprisingly tense the next morning. Ran had stayed up the entire night awaiting a call from Kazuha (one that was reassuring would have been preferable, but Ran soon discovered that not knowing could be worse than bad news). Conan, on the other hand, had eventually fallen asleep—after four hours of staring at the ceiling, contemplating the supposed serial killer's pattern, ignoring Mouri's snores, and trying not to think about Hattori's possible fates. Mouri himself, of course, had been disturbed by the news of the meaning of the code Kazuha had received, and had done his best to contact the Kansai teenagers' families (to no avail); however, he had managed to slip into sleep virtually effortlessly.

Ran had claimed that Mouri's willingness to rest was due to exhaustion from solving such an obscure and difficult code—to which Conan responded by chuckling mirthlessly to himself and knowingly eying the number of empty beer bottles strewn throughout the home. Immediately after warning Kazuha, Conan had returned to Mouri to congratulate him on his brilliant deduction—which as usual, the man did not recall making, thereby forcing Conan to explain the solution in such a way that it seemed as if Mouri had been the one to think of it.

"Geez," Ran moaned, yawning. She had prepared breakfast for herself, Conan, and her father, but she and Conan—the only two awake—hadn't so much as touched the food. "Is Otou-san ever going to wake up?"

Conan glanced at the wall clock as he began to pick at his uneaten breakfast. It was only a little before ten o'clock. _He's been known to sleep later_. "Why don't _you_ call, Ran-neechan?"

She frowned apprehensively. "I've been trying Kazuha-chan all night. When her cell phone kept going straight to voicemail, I called her home, but still nothing. I've been trying Hattori-kun's home, too. And I'm worried that if I call the police, they won't believe me since I'm just a teenager. But they should know Otou-san as a famous detective, so if he calls, they should listen."

Conan nodded. He had to admit, the whole situation did sound a bit odd on paper, especially if it was coming from an unfamiliar source. "What about Heiji-niichan's phone?"

Ran shrugged. "I don't have his number. He never offered to give it to me, and I'm not about to _ask_ for it with Kazuha-chan there."

_Well, why the heck not?_ Conan resisted to the urge to groan. _Must be a girl thing_. "I've got the number!" he chirped instead. "Why don't I call him?"

Ran nodded eagerly, having completely forgotten about her father. "Really? Terrific, Conan-kun!"

Conan pulled out his phone and quickly dialed the aforementioned teen's number. He picked up on the first ring. "Oi, Kudou, I was just about to call. Now, ya gonna tell me what's goin' on?"

The younger-looking boy breathed a sigh of relief, but something still bothered him: _If Hattori's fine, why hasn't Kazuha called back?_ "Hi, Heiji-niichan!" he greeted cheerfully, eying Ran warily. "So Kazuha-neechan got to you alright?"

"Well—wait, is Neechan there?" Hattori had evidently noticed Conan's childish tone and use of honorifics.

"Yeah."

"Occhan, too?"

"No."

"Hm." Hattori paused. "So do I get to know why someone tried to crush me under a pile of rocks? An' how'd Kazuha know to save me?"

Conan straighted in alarm, suddenly alert. "Rocks?" he hissed into the phone. "Do you know where they came from?"

"Uh…accordin' to the chemical an' geological analyses Oton made 'em do last night, the culprit stole 'em from these old ruins just outside of town—the ones from the castle from the Sengoku period. But why—?" Hattori sounded taken aback, as if he had expected Conan's response to be entirely different. And it had only just occurred to the child why.

"Wait, Hattori!" Conan ordered, eyes wide in horrified realization. "…um, niichan," he added with an apprehensive glance at Ran, whose surprise was obvious. He then continued with urgency in his tone. "You asked how Kazuha-neechan knew to save you. Why couldn't she tell you herself?"

Ran sucked in a breath anxiously at the implication as Hattori sighed over the phone.

The Detective of the West took a few more deep, steadying breaths. "Kazuha…" Another breath, "…'s in the hospital."

"_What?_" Conan gasped. "Well, why the…" He snuck another glance at Ran, mentally toning down his language, "…_heck_ aren't you there?" If Hattori had been at the hospital, he wouldn't have been able to answer his cell phone. So then where…?

"On a train to Tokyo." Hattori answered nonchalantly. "I stayed at the hospital all night an' took off this mornin'—I'll be there in thirty minutes, tops."

"_What?_ Why are you coming _here_?"

"'Cause of the last thing Kazuha said to me before the ambulance got there: 'Conan-kun said ya were in trouble. Guess he was right.' Believe it or not, I kinda wanted to see what ya knew about this mess."

"But was it really necessary to come down? Couldn't you have just called?" Conan deadpanned.

"Uh…well, ya see…" Conan could vividly imagine Hattori sweatdropping. "I figured this would evolve into a case that I could help with."

"Just how serious in Kazuha-neechan's condition?" Conan asked incredulously. _Serious enough to stay all night, but not enough so to just take off across the country?_

"Well, she hasn't woken up yet and…and it's critical. But I—Kudou, I didn't see the point in stayin'," he said pleadingly. "What could I do for her there? I just…felt like I could do more by catchin' this creep." He hesitated. "I guess ya guessed what happened, huh? She, um, pushed me out of the way—of the fallin' rocks, I mean—but she got…um…"

"Yeah," Conan interrupted softly. "It's okay; I get it. Guess I'll see you soon, Hattori."

"Thanks." Conan could practically _hear_ Hattori grin. "I'll see ya."

As Hattori hung up, Conan turned to Ran, who was leaning forward eagerly and worriedly. "Heiji-niichan said that Kazuha-neechan just barely made it to him, but she got hurt. He says that she should be fine, though," Conan lied easily; he didn't see the point in worrying Ran over something she couldn't control.

Ran stared for a few moments. "…Conan-kun?"

"Yes, Ran-neechan?"

"Did…you just address Hattori-kun without an honorific?" Ran cocked her head to the side, looking remarkably like a confused puppy.

Conan's cheeks acquired a slightly pinker hue. _I must admit, she does look pretty cu_—_wait_, _what did she just say? Oh, crap_.

"Um, well…I was, uh, caught up in the moment?" Conan suggested tentatively. _It's worked as an excuse before_….

"Oh. Okay." Ran said brightly. "So exactly what did Hattori-kun say?"

xXx

"Alright, so what's goin' on?" Hattori said immediately as he walked into the agency. "I want the full story. Wait, where's Neechan?" He swiveled his head from side to side in puzzlement.

"I _told_ her half an hour, so she went to buy stuff for dinner before you came," Conan replied exasperatedly. "You took fifteen minutes."

Hattori shrugged and draped himself over the couch unoccupied by Conan. "So I'm not great with time unless we're talkin' time of death. How about Occhan?"

"Still sleeping."

"Then ya don't have to worry about bein' overheard. So I'll ask again: what's goin' on?"

Conan sighed, pulling out a small black notepad. "I'll write down the timeline as I go. So last night Kazuha got the code, and about an hour later you were attacked. Exactly four days prior to that attack, a well-known detective and his fiancé were killed. Police found them both the next day, and determined their respective times of death to be anywhere from nine to eleven p.m. the previous night. Megure-keibu called Occhan to help solve the code the day after they found the bodies. It was found in the fiancé's home shortly after they found her body."

Hattori raised an eyebrow. "And the code was…?"

Conan smirked. "Want to see if you can solve it?"

"…Maybe."

"Alright," Conan laughed. "The first one is "The Greek 'Overseer'" in English, with quotations around 'overseer.'"

Humming in contemplation, Hattori gazed out the window for a few moments. Finally, "Bishops used to be called _episcopus_ in ancient Rome, right?" When Conan nodded, he continued. "Then the answer is 'bishop'—in English. Am I right?"

"That's what I figured."

"So between me and that first guy, the culprit's targetin' detectives."

"Unfortunately," Conan said, nodding grimly, "that's what it looks like."

"And he's assignin' each of his targets a piece from the game of chess?"

Conan blinked in surprise. "How did you…?"

Hattori grinned cheekily. "I guessed. Ya seemed pretty concerned about the fact that he tried to crush me with rocks from a castle. Chess is the most obvious link between castles and bishops. Why were ya so concerned about that fact, anyway?"

"The answer to your code was 'rook.' A rook, as you obviously know, is also known as a castle. The murder weapon in your attempted murder was a bunch of rocks from a castle. The answer to the other code was 'bishop.' Judging by the traces of iron found on Mogi-san's chest, he was stabbed with a cross-shaped object. It probably _was_ a cross. And his fiancé was strangled with what appears to be a chain of beads. Considering the answer to the code, it was probably a rosary; I think the chess pieces and the murder weapons are connected," Conan explained grimly. "And…there's something else. Kazuha received a code; that's how we found out about it and solved it. Since Mogi-san's fiancé also received the first code, it seems that the culprit is also targeting the detectives'…um…_significant others_, and is using the code to rope them into it."

"Hm…you're probably right about all that," Hattori mused. Suddenly his eyes widened. "Oi! _What_ did you just say? Kazuha is _not_—repeat _not_—my significant _other_!"

"Whatever you say…" Conan muttered, subtly rolling his eyes. "Anyway, I'm not sure where we can go from here. It's not like there's any specific order. I don't particularly want to just wait around for someone else to die, but I don't know what else to do."

"We can at least think of who else might be targeted," Hattori protested. "Other detectives, like you—or Kudou Shinichi at least—or Occhan, or—"

"Hakuba Saguru-kun," Conan commented offhandedly.

"_Or_ that detective woman who specializes in medicine…what was her name again…?" Hattori considered, pointedly ignoring Conan.

Conan frowned. "You have to admit, Hakuba-kun probably will be tar—"

"I don't _have _to admit anything," Hattori interrupted stubbornly.

"Regardless, it doesn't really matter," Conan sighed. "It's not like they can all have police protection twenty-four-seven."

"Hakuba probably could. _His_ dad's a _police commissioner_," Hattori added mockingly.

"The best we can do…" Conan continued, ignoring his bitter friend. "…is to get this information out on the news as soon as possible. Hopefully the other detectives will catch wind of it in time."


	4. Interim

**Still don't own. And if anyone was wondering, even though Heiji thinks of Conan as "Kudou," Conan will still be referred to as "Conan" when the story's following Heiji to avoid confusion as to exactly what size he is.**

xXx

When Heiji awoke, he wasn't quite sure where he was; it wasn't the detective agency, that was sure. For one, it seemed to be an actual house. But as he sat up on the couch, the memories suddenly rushed back: Conan had offered to let him stay at the Kudou place until they solved the code, and had escorted him there to drop off his baggage after Ran's return and an early lunch (during which Heiji had found out the hard way that Conan had kept Kazuha's condition from Neechan; to say she had not been pleased would be an understatement). The kid had also mentioned something about the vacation schedule of some "Okiya" guy, but Heiji hadn't been paying much attention at that point. The Kansai detective also recalled that, upon arrival, he had promptly flung himself onto the nearest couch to take a quick power nap—which, he figured, couldn't have lasted for more than a few hours.

Heiji probably would have realized that it would have been impossible for his nap to have lasted a mere few hours if he had noticed that there was no longer sunlight shining in through any windows; however, as it was, he was far to preoccupied with Conan, whom he had just spotted on a chair beside the couch, busily typing on a laptop. Heiji briefly wondered where he had gotten a hold of his own computer. He couldn't imagine Neechan buying him one, considering it was so much more up-to-date than even the Mouri's home computer.

He leapt off said couch enthusiastically to face the boy, completely revitalized. "Alright, Kudou! Let's get the news to the police!"

"Already done." Conan yawned as he glanced up at Heiji over the laptop.

Heiji blinked, but his grin lingered. "…What?"

Conan shot him an annoyed look. "You slept for ten hours, I guess because you spent all last night with Kazuha." That was the point at which Heiji noticed that it was, indeed, night. "Anyway, speaking of Kazuha, your father's been texting you updates on her condition every hour; your phone kept buzzing." He paused before adding, "It was rather annoying."

"Eh?" Heiji reached for his phone, which had been placed—either by himself, or Conan; he couldn't quite remember—on the coffee table beside the couch on which he had slept. "What'd the last one say?" Regardless of Conan's nonchalant tone, he knew for sure that the boy was concerned enough to read the updates.

"She's beginning to stabilize," Conan said dismissively, resuming his rapid typing on the laptop. "She's not awake yet, but they're confident she'll be fine."

Heiji breathed a sigh of relief, a tightness that had been present in his chest since Kazuha was admitted into the hospital having finally been loosened.

"But anyway," Conan continued, "as I said, I already went to the police after it became clear you weren't waking up anytime soon, and now I'm trying to get in touch with the other detectives directly." He grimaced. "Not having much luck. I tried phoning them, but Hakuba didn't pick up and Soda-san's unlisted."

"Two things." Heiji positioned himself behind Conan's chair and stooped to stare at the computer screen, in a considerably better mood. "First, who's Soda-san? Second, I thought we agreed that Hakuba didn't count."

"Soda-san is the female detective you mentioned about ten hours ago, remember? The one who specializes in medicine? And as for Hakuba, you were _serious_?" Conan gaped at Heiji incredulously. "Why the hell wouldn't he _count_?"

"Um…" Heiji floundered, attempting to think of a better excuse than the one he had in mind—which he knew the other detective wouldn't accept. _He's too annoyin'_—_why would a killer even bother? If I were a murderer, I would automatically assume that someone else would do him in __for me__ in the very near future_. "…he's only _half_ Japanese?" he instead suggested halfheartedly.

Conan gave him a deadpan look before turning back to the computer screen, muttering "_Pathetic_" under his breath.

"So anyway…now what're ya doin'?"

"Trying to get as much information as possible. So far, I know that Soda-san is recently married, so if she's a target, then her husband will probably be getting the note."

"Or her best friend," Heiji noted. "Kazuha got the note for me."

"…R-Right…" Conan rolled his eyes. _Baka_. "Anyway, from what I can tell, Hakuba doesn't have a girlfriend. There _is_ a girl that hangs around him occasionally at heists, but for the most part she's with Nakamori-keibu in the pictures from the heists. I think she's his daughter."

"She looks a lot like Neechan," Heiji observed, peeking over the boy's shoulder at a photograph from a recent Kaitou Kid heist displayed on the computer screen—it featured Nakamori-keibu and his daughter.

"Hadn't noticed."

Heiji gaped. "Yer kiddin'. Change the hair a bit and she's practically her twin!" He flailed his arm wildly for emphasis, knocking over the coffee mug balanced precariously on the arm of Conan's chair in the process.

"Oi, careful!" Conan snatched the mug just before it fell, a splash of coffee spilling over the side and onto the floor. "You're cleaning that up."

Heiji scowled at the fluid that was already slowly embedding itself in the carpet grain. "Ya shouldn't be drinkin' coffee anyway, _kid_."

"Whatever." Conan rolled his eyes again as he shut the computer, placed it on the coffee table, and hopped off the couch. "Well, I'm off to bed. I already told Ran that I'm staying over to make sure you don't destroy the place."

"What? It's only…" Heiji glanced at the bottom of the computer screen to check the time. "…nine-thirty!"

"I didn't get a lot of sleep last night…thanks to you," Conan pointed out as he began to shuffle toward the door. "So you only have yourself to blame."

"Well, what am I supposed to do in the meantime?"

"Maybe you should have thought about that before you took a ten-hour nap in the middle of the day." He hesitated, reconsidering, before adding, "Why don't you check out the timeline I made? I left my notebook next to the chair. You could keep researching, too. …Or you could go back to sleep. Your call."

xXx

Heiji was bored out of his mind. He had already taken Conan's suggestion of checking out the timeline jotted down in the notebook, which was less of a timeline and more of a list of four dates:

_April 16, 9-11 pm (according to coroner's report): Bishop murders (Mogi Harufumi and fiancé Fujioka Rei)_

_April 17, 5-6 pm (range): bodies from Bishop murders found_

_April 18, approx. 3 pm: Mouri consulted on Bishop code by Megure-keibu_

_April 20, approx. 9 pm: attempted Rook murders (Hattori Heiji and "friend" Toyama Kazuha)_

Aside from promptly scribbling out the quotations around "friend" (_What did he mean by that, anyway?_), Heiji had not found reviewing the notes to be very stimulating. He was able to deduce one thing from the timeline, though: the murderer seemed to be extremely focused on time, given that the time at which he had carried out both of his murders was the same.

This also meant that the murderer was organized. At that point, Heiji had decided to approach the case in a new way: he decided to build a working profile of the serial killer.

…He had gotten as far as "organized" and "most likely foreign, considering all the English" before he discovered that profiles were not his forte, and dedicated himself to Conan's other suggestion: research. He continued where Conan had left off. If Hakuba didn't have a girlfriend, the Nakamori girl could definitely be a potential target. But, though each target pairing so far had been made up of one boy and one girl, same-gender pairing couldn't be discounted, nor could partners with disparate ages. Heiji thought he recalled Hakuba mention something in passing at the Detective Koushien about a "baaya"….There was also his father to consider, as well as any of his classmates….

Heiji plopped in the chair previously occupied by Conan and pulled the computer onto his lap. However, as he opened the laptop with a _click_, he realized with a mental groan that the kid had neglected to inform him of the password needed to deactivate sleep mode. Heiji's eyes drifted nervously to the doorway through which Conan had previously departed; he did _not_ want to incur the seemingly-adorable child's wrath by waking him for the password.

He sighed, and reluctantly began to mentally run down each possible password that Kudou Shinichi could have concocted. He spent a good hour exhausting the Holmes category before moving onto the Black Organization, and from there, onto Kudou's family and friends. Mouri Ran had a category all to herself, a category that Heiji was not particularly eager to explore; of all subjects for a password, he figured that Kudou's love interest would be the least likely—after all, Kudou _was_, you know, a _guy_. And Heiji hated wasting time—he had grown annoyed by this particular challenge within five minutes. But he loathed defeat even more, so he pressed onward.

…And was pleasantly surprised when, after only a few minutes, his perseverance was rewarded.

"Eh?" he blinked in surprise, not quite believing that he had really unlocked it. His first notion was that after a certain amount of guesses, he simply wore down the software until it just let him in…but no, that was impossible.

That meant that the password really _was_ "Kudou_Ran." Heiji snickered to himself. _I guess I know where he got this thing now_…Heiji thought of Kudou's playful mother amusedly. _She must've somehow programmed it so he can't change it_….

He shook his head, urging himself to focus, pulled up an internet browser, and picked up where Conan had left off: Hakuba's relationships and potential targets.

It didn't take long for him to realize that no matter how sophisticated his hacking abilities were, there was no possible way to figure out the identities of Hakuba's _friends_—unless, of course, they had been present during any of Hakuba's cases or heists, but it seemed that Conan had already looked into that.

Concerning his family, on the other hand, Heiji could make an educated guess. There was his father, of course, the police commissioner; and his baaya.

"Damn it," Heiji groused, angrily slamming the laptop shut. "All that time tryin' to figure out the password, and he's already done everythin'." He paused, thinking. "Guess I'll take his other suggestion, then."

xXx

"Oi. Hattori. Wake up. Oi." Conan reached over and poked Hattori's cheek experimentally. "Really. To much sleep isn't healthy, you know?"

Hattori grumbled in his sleep and sluggishly swatted at the air near his face where Conan's hand had been.

Conan sighed heavily and shoved Hattori's shoulder. "Come _on_, Hattori."

"Fine, fine…" Hattori muttered, half-asleep. "Jus' a few more—OI!" He hit the floor with a heavy thud; when his face made contact, Conan almost felt guilty for kicking out the leg of the chair over which Hattori had been draped. Almost.

"What the hell was that?" Hattori snarled, now wide awake and rubbing his nose. "Yer willin' to destroy yer own furniture jus' to wake me up?"

"We have to get going. We might be running out of time. Besides, we can always buy another chair. Kaa-san might be a bit irritated when she finds out, but she'll forget about it soon enough."

"Speakin' a' that oba-san…" Hattori smirked. "…did she get you that computer?" He gestured toward said PC, which he had left on the coffee table.

"Yes…why?" Conan arched an eyebrow, warily noting Hattori's devious expression.

"I had to figure out its password last night to do research."

"…Oh." Conan blushed deeply. "Baro! Of course she set that!" He cleared his throat, desperately searching for a change in subject. "But, uh, what…what did you find out in that research?"

Now it was Hattori's turn to struggle with what to say. "Uh, well…" He relayed what he had deduced and discovered…which wasn't much.

"…Let me get this straight." Conan pinched the bridge of his nose and exhaled slowly. "You spent half the night figuring out the password for my computer, the other half sleeping, and _about ten minutes investigating_?"

"Uh, s-somethin' like that." Hattori chuckled nervously.

"Well, I guess it doesn't really matter. It's about time we got going, anyway."

"Goin'?" Hattori repeated. "Where?"

Conan blinked. "To see Soda-san. I didn't tell you? I figured since I couldn't get a hold of her, we should go visit. I did find her address."

"Okay…so where does she live?"

"_Well_…"

xXx

"Tottori," Hattori repeated under his breath. "_Tottori_."

"Saying it multiple times won't make it any less true," Conan drawled, selecting a seat a considerable distance from the other passengers on the train.

Hattori shoved one hand in his pocket and with the other gripped the rail above the seat Conan had chosen. "Well, ya can't blame me for bein' irritated. If I'd known ya wanted to talk to Soda-san while I was in Osaka, I coulda gone by myself _then_. Woulda saved a lot a' time; they're both in the Kansai region, after all."

"She didn't have an accent when I met her last time, though," Conan realized, ignoring Hattori. "I think she just moved there. So she probably won't know too many people in the prefecture."

"Eh? What does that have ta do with anythin'?" Hattori scratched the back of his neck distractedly. "Ah, my neck's killin' me!"

"Maybe you shouldn't have slept on a chair then," Conan snapped. He took a deep breath, relaxing. "But the people in Tottori have nothing to do with this case. Just…" He shook his head. _No_._ Can't get distracted_._ People are in danger as we speak, and it has nothing to do with __them_. "I'll tell you later, okay?"

"Uh, okay," Hattori said doubtfully.

xXx

The address that Conan had acquired was that of Soda Ikumi's detective agency. Unlike Mouri's, it had a more professional air; for one, she didn't live there. For another, she had an actual receptionist. It was also only a mile from the police station for easy access, and was located in a large office building.

"Ano…excuse me," Conan greeted the heavyset, brunette receptionist as childishly as possible, gripping the edges of her desk to pull himself into her view. Hattori stood silently in the doorway, ready to "pull rank" (as he had somewhat conceitedly called it) on the woman if she didn't fall for Conan's innocent routine.

"Can I help ya, dear?" the receptionist said with obviously false cheerfulness. "Are ya lost?"

"Uh, no. Actually, I'm looking for Soda-tantei. Is she here?" Conan raised his eyebrows and widened his eyes innocently.

"I'm sorry, little boy. But she's out with a client. Also, she jus' got married—she's Hidori Ikumi-tantei now." She smiled apologetically. "But if it's urgent, she recently took on an apprentice 'bout yer age. Somethin' 'bout a famous detective in Tokyo doin' it and it's worked out well fer him. But her apprentice lives right down the block; maybe he can help ya."

"Ah, no thank you." Conan sweatdropped. "I need to talk to Sod—Hidori-tantei specifically. It's urgent."

"I'm sure it is," the receptionist said patronizingly, turning back to her computer. "But—"

"We need ta see her now," Hattori spoke up harshly. "I'm Hattori Heiji, Detective of the West, and I've reason to believe Hidori-tantei an' her husband're in grave danger." He pointed to Conan. "This guy's my assistant."

_You just couldn't resist, could you?_ Conan subtly glared at Hattori, who replied with a quick, cheeky grin.

"Oh!" The brunette pushed her glasses up her nose as she blinked at the teenager, only just noticing him. "H-Hattori Heiji?"

Hattori nodded with exaggerated curtness, a smug grin firmly in place. Conan, meanwhile, was relatively shocked at the extent of credibility that Hattori's name held—before he realized Tottori's proximity to Osaka.

"I'm really very sorry," the woman apologized with more sincerity than before. "But they're on vacation in Kyoto! I'm jus' stayin' late ta get some work finished, and Ikumi-san said that if anyone showed up after she left, I should tell 'em that she was busy."

Hattori grimaced, and Conan immediately piped up, "It really is urgent, Oneesan. Do you know how we can contact them?"

"Ikumi-san won't bring her cell phone on vacation 'cause she doesn't like interruptions. She won't let her husband take his, either. But I can tell ya where they're stayin'," she added. Conan whipped out his notebook and jotted down her words as she gave them the hotel name.

"Thanks a lot, Oneesan," Hattori said, turning to go. "We really appreciate it."

"Uh, wait!" the receptionist suddenly commanded, a bemused look on her face. "I jus' thought a' somethin'. Is anyone else workin' on this case with ya?"

"Eh?" Hattori's eyebrows furrowed in suspicion. "No. Why?"

"A woman came by 'bout an hour ago," she explained, looking from Hattori to Conan with a face as confused-looking as the both of theirs. "She said that Keiichi-san—Ikumi-san's husband—was her uncle, and she had ta speak ta him, 'cause there was some sorta emergency. So I told her where she could find him. I don't think Keiichi-san has a niece, though."

"He doesn't _have_ a niece?" Hattori shouted in alarm. "Then why'd ya tell her where ta find him?"

"It didn't realize it 'til afterwards," she said defensively. "And then I jus' thought, 'Oh, she must've jus' been a desperate client. Ikumi-san may get mad, but she'll brush her off easily enough.' And then I thought she might've been workin' with ya. But she's not?"

Conan and Hattori shared a panicked glance. "No…" the former answered slowly. "But can you tell us what she looked like?"

"Um…" The woman put a finger to her cheek, thinking back. "She was pretty, an' thin. An' she had hair about yer color, little boy, with very pale blue eyes. She had a mole on the right corner a' her mouth, but no other really identifyin' features. In fact, what first caught my attention was her outfit: she was a…Gothic Lolita, I think's what they call it."

"Gothic…!" Conan was cut off as Hattori directed a light kick at his knee.

"I'm sure it's nothin' ta worry about, Oneesan," Hattori said cheerfully. "It probably _was _jus' a desperate client. Thanks fer all yer help!" With that, he bowed, grabbed Conan's hand, and led him out the door.

When they were safely outside and out of earshot, Hattori bent down, his tone sobering dramatically. "Whaddaya think?"

"I think…" Conan narrowed his eyes. "…that dressing in a Gothic Lolita style makes dressing in all black a little less conspicuous." _I know some members of the Organization don't wear black when they aren't on a job, but if that girl was with them, it would mean that they're involved in __this__ case_.

Hattori nodded grimly and stood, taking his cell phone out of his pocket. "At any rate, we should call the hotel, find out exactly where it is, an' see if he can talk to Soda-san or her husband, instead a' goin' all the way ta Kyoto."

Conan nodded and retrieved his own phone. "I'll see if we can get tickets to Kyoto anyway, just in case. And, uh, Soda-san is Hidori-san now. She's married."

"Let's jus' call her Soda-san ta make it less confusin'." Suddenly Hattori paused, blinking. "Oi! Who's payin' fer all these train rides?"

"If you're so concerned about cost, why don't you go to Kyoto by yourself?" Conan glanced down the street at a small flea market. "I want to look into that Gothic Lolita some more, see if anyone knows who she is or where she went."

Hattori shrugged. "Sounds like a plan."


	5. Queen

**I just sort of stopped giving random people Hattori's accent; it got annoying after awhile. So now, only characters that I didn't make up will speak in an accent. Speaking of which, I just realized that the more I write Hattori, the more exaggerated I'm making his accent. *shrugs***

**Still don't own. Enjoy!**

xXx

"Thanks, Oneesan!" Conan called over his shoulder and he hopped on his skateboard. He had separated from Hattori a few hours ago after the hotel refused to allow the teen to speak to Soda Ikumi and her husband. Hattori had then boarded the next train to Kyoto while Conan continued to search for the girl with the Gothic Lolita style. He had begun by interviewing the vendors at the flea market down the street from Soda-san's detective agency.

Most had noticed the girl walk by, but only one elderly man selling bootleg movies knew her name. However, he didn't know where she lived, so Conan had had to continue questioning until he came across a young woman selling knock-off brand-name purses and watches. She was able not only to identify the Gothic Lolita girl as Endou Kimiko, but also direct Conan to the apartment complex in which the girl lived.

As an extra thanks, Conan purchased a counterfeit Fusae Brand's wallet; he figured that he could use it as payment if he ever needed Haibara to help him with a case again. (And if she refused the knock-off, he could always give it to Ran.) And so, thanking the woman, Conan leapt onto his skateboard and zoomed off to locate the apartment complex.

When he made it there, he was shocked to find a mass of people gathered in front of the complex. He slowed his speed, jumped off his board, and tugged on the shirt sleeve of the nearest tenant, a middle-aged woman.

"Excuse me, Oba-san?" Conan began innocently. "What's going on?"

"Oh, little boy!" The woman knelt down to his height and frowned. "We're having a gas leak drill, and the building's been evacuated. Do you live here?"

Conan shook his head, subtly scanning the crowd for the conspicuous Gothic Lolita dress. "But I'm visiting someone who does. Do you know Endou Kimiko-neesan?"

"Yes…" The woman stood, also scanning the crowd. "…but I don't see her. Strange, she was definitely in the building an hour ago…."

That was when it happened. In retrospect, Conan should have seen this coming; after all, there had yet to be a dead body since he and Hattori had met up, and that had been over twenty-four hours ago. Up until that point, they had both probably assumed that this serial murder case had allowed them to meet their murder quota for the visit.

_But_, Conan thought wryly as he watched the black-clad body slam into the sidewalk, _that is obviously not the case_. As the crowd began to scream, Conan rushed to the body and ordered a bystander to call the police. Given that she had fallen out of a third story window, Conan checked her pulse to be certain of her death. However, it only confirmed his suspicion: the girl whom he had come to find was dead.

xXx

Much to Conan's chagrin, the Tottori police were unfamiliar with him, and were thus unaccustomed to allowing him near crime scenes. As such, he was forced to wait outside until the detectives finished the crime scene examination. When they finally did leave the deceased's apartment, Conan discovered that they had come to the conclusion that Endou Kimiko had leapt out the window of her own accord when she heard the alarm that alerted residents to a gas leak; at the time, the only door to her apartment had been blocked by a large cart, preventing her escape by the conventional method.

As soon as he was certain that the police were finished, Conan pulled on some latex gloves and entered the apartment—after picking the simple lock on the door—to do some investigating of his own.

_If this woman's involved with the Organization or the serial murders, any evidence proving so will have either been destroyed or well-hidden_, Conan thought as he wandered into the one-bedroom apartment. The front door opened into the main room, which was separated into the carpeted family room on Conan's left and the tile-floor kitchen on his right. The only other door was located on the opposite side of the room.

Conan began to move along the pale blue wall, rapping lightly on the plaster with his knuckles and tugging on the edges of the carpet to see if it could be lifted. The carpeted section of the room held only a plush couch and a television set on a wooden stand—all of which Conan practically demolished in his search (though he did so in such a way that any potential evidence would have been more-or-less undisturbed).

Reluctantly eying the multitude of cabinets and appliances that identified the kitchen, Conan resolved to investigate the bedroom and bathroom next. Upon swinging open the door to the bedroom, he was relieved to find that it was relatively small and contained only a single bed, a nightstand, a dresser, a lamp set into a fan hanging above the bed, and a bathroom door. He entered said door to investigate the bathroom only after subjecting the bedroom to a fruitless strip search.

The bathroom was the room that Conan had anticipated searching most; one can tell a lot about a person by the contents of her medicine cabinet, and Conan's instincts told him that there was something to be found in the small room. It contained only a toilet, a sink, a small shower, and an even smaller closet.

Conan started with the bathroom walls and the shower; finding nothing of importance, he moved onto the cabinet below the sink, which was filled with only basic toiletries. There wasn't anything out of place among the toiletries, and Conan even went so far as to unscrew the pipes under the sink before admitting that there was nothing to be found. However, he wasn't really discouraged until he checked the medicine cabinet—the only information that it yielded was that Endou Kimiko suffered from frequent headaches, mild ADD, and an obsession with dental hygiene.

Now much less confident in his instincts, Conan opened the closet door impatiently, doubtful that he would find the evidence he needed. He sighed heavily as his gaze fell on more toiletries, towels, washcloths and extra sheets. He ducked into the thin closet to commence his search. Standing on the balls of his feet, Conan reached for the lowest shelf; however, as he tried to push himself up farther (cursing his small stature the entire time), he lost his balance, falling into the side of the closet.

"Huh?" Conan, still leaning against the wall, pushed against the loose panel, which he heard scrape against the floor. He knelt down and shoved the bottom of the panel until a gap appeared, revealing the piping behind the walls. Lying facedown on the closet floor, he slid his hand into the gap up to his shoulder, until his fingertips brushed the ceiling of the apartment directly below.

He slowly swung his arm back and forth, fingers never leaving the layer of dust, until they fumbled over something…out of place. He felt the surface of the object, quickly judged it to be a plastic bag, gripped the edge, and dragged it up through the gap.

"Eh? What's this?" Conan carefully examined the bag, reluctant to open it, regardless of the fact that he was still wearing gloves. From what he could tell, the bag seemed to contain about 50,000 yen **(A/N: about $470 US)** and a rectangular, box-like tape recorder about the size of his hand. Upon closer inspection, Conan realized that there was a small Post-It stuck on the recorder with the words "To: Endou Kimiko, From: The Ebony King" scrawled across it.

"This is…" Conan muttered. _'The Ebony King'? Could he have come up with a more obvious code name?_

Conan carefully backed out of the closet, placed the bag in his backpack, and quickly perused additional potential hiding places in the kitchen before leaving the apartment. Concerning the tape, he decided to call Hattori before listening to it, but he wasn't yet sure what should be done with the money.

xXx

"…an' so, _yer_ the murderer!" Heiji said dramatically, pointing accusingly at the murder victim's stepbrother. As the killer broke down in sobs and the police carted him away, Heiji relaxed, breathing out an exasperated sigh. _Who the hell decides ta kill someone on a train ride?_

"Uh, 'scuse me." He tapped the shoulder of the conductor, who had come to witness the deduction when he was forced by the police to stop the train. "When do ya think we can get movin' again?"

"Well, the police need to leave first, which will probably take quite a bit of time," the man answered gruffly, checking his watch. "We'll probably get to Kyoto at about 8:30."

"That late?" Heiji mentally cursed, and hoped that the kid was making better time than he was. Suddenly, his phone rang. A quick glance at his phone told him that it was Conan. "Uh, sorry, gotta take this." He turned away from the conductor and brought that phone to his ear. "How're ya makin' out, Kudou?"

"It's going well," the boy answered tensely. "It seems that the way the girl dressed was just coincidence. Someone with the Organization would have gotten rid of evidence better. But I found a tape recorder hidden in her apartment, along with a large amount of cash. I haven't listened to it yet, but it says on the recorder that it's from 'The Ebony King,' so I think it's from our culprit. I think he paid her to find out where Soda-san and her husband were staying. So I just boarded a train to Kyoto. How long have you been there? Have you talked to Soda-san yet?"

"Uh…about that…" Heiji grimaced. "There was a murder en route. We've been held up fer hours, and we're not gonna get there 'til 8:30."

Conan sighed. "Well, it's not really a surprise, is it? There was a death in Tottori, too. Not a murder, which _is_ surprising, actually, but a sort of…accidental suicide, I guess. I'll tell you about it when I get to Kyoto. Provided you don't run into another dead body, you should get there just before I do. I'll see you then."

"Want me ta wait fer ya or go straight ta Soda-san?"

"Time's not exactly on our side right now. I'd say go straight to Soda-san. With any luck, two dead bodies are enough for the day." A click signaled the end of the conversation.

xXx

Heiji had been hoping that the conductor's estimate had been off—but he had no such luck. Fortunately, he managed to find someone on the train who could supply him with directions to Soda-san's hotel, given that it was in a somewhat obscure area of Kyoto, one with which he was unfamiliar. He was relieved to discover that it was only ten minutes from his stop, provided that he rented a bicycle from a shop that was conveniently located across the street from the train station.

He didn't know why he was so worried about timing; he knew that the killer's pattern dictated that he would attack at nine o'clock, but there was absolutely so solid evidence that tonight was the target night (in fact, given that the previous two attacks had been four days apart, inductive reasoning actually contradicted the theory). Hell, there wasn't even evidence that Soda-san was the next target; she no doubt _was_ a target, as Conan's sleuthing had proved, but there was no guarantee that she was _next_. Regardless, Heiji's gut told him to worry—and that was enough reason for him to do so. As such, the knowledge that he would reach Soda-san before the observed time limit was a substantial comfort.

As he turned his rented bike into a back alley to avoid a traffic jam, Heiji glanced down at his watch: 8:41. The alley emptied out onto a main road—the very road on which the hotel stood. Heiji sped his pedaling; he was in the home stretch. Upon reaching the hotel, he squeezed forcefully on the brakes and the bike wheels screeched to a sudden halt, almost flinging him over the handlebars. After leaping off his ride, he quickly guided the bike into a slot in the nearest bike rack and hustled toward the hotel door. As he jogged, he pulled his hat low over his eyes and shoved his hands into his pockets; if the killer was near, Heiji didn't want to be recognized.

He made a beeline for the front desk, cautiously scanning the lobby with his peripheral vision for any suspicious characters, particularly foreigners. Spotting none, he removed his hands from his pockets and cleared his throat to catch the receptionist's attention, thanking Kami that there was no one queued up before him.

"May I help you?" The man raised an eyebrow as he appraised the teenager facing him.

Heiji nodded and pulled out his wallet, having fabricated a viable excuse on the train. It attracted much less attention than claiming that a guest was a potential murder victim, and was much more believable. "I found this in the guest parkin' lot. The driver's license says it belongs ta Soda Ikumi. If she's here, can ya call her down?"

The receptionist reached for his computer and, after a few taps on the keyboard, reported that Soda-san had not signed out; she was still in the hotel.

Heiji paid close attention to the extension number as the man dialed Soda-san's room. After a few moments, he replaced the phone. "Hm. That's odd. There's no answer—oi, where are you—get back here!" Heiji was already diving into the elevator that had just arrived. Soda-san and her husband could have just been sleeping, but he was _not_ about to take any chances.

_The extension number was 301, so they must be in that room, on the third floor_, Heiji reasoned as he poked the '3' button. _But how do I get in without a key?_

Heiji had to temporarily put this dilemma on hold, however, when the elevator doors slid open with a dinging sound. He didn't have to sprint far before he came to the door to Room 301.

"Soda—uh, I mean, Hidori Ikumi-san? Hidori Keiichi-san? Oi, Hidori-san!" Heiji shouted, pounding on the door. "HIDORI-SAN!"

Suddenly, the door to Room 302 swung open and a maid emerged, just as Heiji was angling his shoulder to try to slam down 301's door. He froze, an idea beginning to form.

"Uh, 'scuse me?" When the maid glanced up, he continued. "My, uh, sister locked me outta my room. Do ya think ya can unlock it fer me?"

The maid blinked. "Why can't you just go down to the front desk?"

_Maybe I should've thought that one through more_…. "Uh, I hafta…pee," Heiji finished meekly, crossing his legs and bouncing up and down for emphasis.

She yawned, scowled at Heiji, and finally shrugged, sliding a master keycard in the slot.

"Thanks so much!" Heiji said gratefully as he pulled on the door handle and barged into the room. The maid had barely made it to the elevators when Heiji poked his head out of the doorframe again and began shouting hysterically.

"Oi! Maid-san! Call the police and ambulance! There's been a murder!"

xXx

_So it __was__ tonight_, Conan realized with a growing horror as he spotted the police cars clustered around the front of the hotel. _Why didn't Hattori_—_?_

"Oi, Kudou!" Ah, there he was, jogging out of that alley.

"Hattori? What are you _doing_? What happened?" Conan yelled.

"I was goin' ta get ya." Hattori grabbed Conan's arm and led him across the street. "My cell died, an' Soda-san an' Hidori-san've been killed. I sealed off the area an' went ta get ya as soon as the police got there."

"How were they killed?" Conan asked as they entered the hotel.

"Hidori-san was stabbed through the heart, an' Soda-san was hit over the back a' the head."

"And it _killed_ her?"

"The culprit used somethin' hard, I think, probably metal. That, an' it was the crown a' the head where she was hit," Hattori explained, leading the way to the elevator and pressing the button for the appropriate floor.

Conan nodded. "What about the code? Did you find one?"

"Not yet, but I told the investigators ta look fer a nonsensical sentence written on a piece a' paper. Also, when I found Soda-san, she had a phone in her hand. I think she mighta been tryin' ta call fer help."

The elevator doors parted. As Hattori led Conan to Room 301, the officer guarding the door used a master key obtained from the manager to allow the teen detective inside—Hattori had apparently already established his authority. They entered to find that the bodies had already been removed, the blood-splattered kitchen where they had been found roped off.

Upon spotting Conan, one of the junior officers hurried over to Hattori in alarm. "Hattori-san! This isn't a place for children!"

"It's fine, it's fine," Hattori brushed the young woman off impatiently. "This is the Sleepin' Kogoro's apprentice."

"Sleeping—" she repeated in shock as Hattori shouldered past her to get a better view of the crime scene, dragging Conan behind him.

"That was not necessary," Conan muttered under his breath.

"Eh? Did ya hear somethin'? Sounded kinda like the wind." Hattori grinned at his companion.

"I'm glad you can find a way to amuse yourself under the circumstances."

"Yer a sarcastic ochibi-chan, aren't ya?" Hattori raised his eyebrows, smirking. "Now, where's Kikumaru-kei—oh, there he is. Oi, Kikumaru-keiji!"

Hattori waved his arm casually at a police detective who was taking two bags of evidence from another officer. He glanced up at the sound of his name. "Oh, Hattori-san." He held up the evidence bags proudly. "We found what you asked for."

"This confirms it," Conan noted grimly as he and Hattori strode toward the detective. "It's definitely the killer."

Hattori nodded, frowning. He held out a hand toward Kikumaru-keiji expectantly. "Thanks, Kikumaru-keiji." But as the officer began to hand over the bag containing a small scrap of paper, Hattori's eyes drifted to the second evidence bag in his grasp. "Is that a cell phone?"

"Uh, yes." Kikumaru-keiji glanced at the cell phone, which was flipped open, its buttons smeared with bloody fingerprints, and its screen black. "It seems that Hidori Ikumi-san managed to type out a dying message."

Both Conan and Hattori released small gasps of surprise. "Dyin' message?" the latter repeated.

Kikumaru-keiji nodded as he handed off the bags to Hattori and pulled out his police notebook. "It's in romanji, but it's not a word I recognize," he spoke as he jotted down a few letters. He turned the notebook around to show Hattori. "See?"

Hattori frowned at the letters. "'Ceres.' I don't think that's Japanese."

Conan nodded, balanced on the balls of his feet to get a better view. "It's English…sort of."

"Thanks, Kikumaru-keiji," Hattori said, nodding at the bewildered officer. He held up the evidence bag containing the scrap of paper. "I'll let ya know when we crack this code."

Kikumaru-keiji blinked. "It's a code?"

xXx

Conan and Hattori stood in a corner of the room, deep in thought. "Well, this is it," Conan said, leaning over the code pinned against the edges of the plastic evidence bag, which they had set on the carpet:

ALBUQUERQUE WAY ENDS HERE TEN-5, GOOD BUDDY.

"That last part sounds familiar…" Hattori mused.

"It's way too specific—I think it's some kind of quote," Conan added. "And the rest is just nonsense. But that's how the last one was, too." He retrieved his cell phone and began to dial Haibara's cell phone. "I'll call Haibara and ask her to look up what the last part means."

"The five's probably significant," Hattori noted as Conan listened to the dial tone. "It's the only one not spelled out."

Conan was nodding in agreement as Haibara picked up. She sounded bored as she asked, "Is this important, Kudou-kun?"

Conan rolled his eyes. "Very. Look, Haibara, could you look something up for me?"

She paused. "I want another wallet. Same brand as before."

"What happened to the one you _had_?"

"It's out of style. Normally I wouldn't mind, but as long as you're the one buying it…"

_Good call on buying that knock-off earlier_, Conan mentally congratulated himself. "Okay, whatever you want. Just look this up: 'Ten-five, good buddy.'"

"…Don't you mind ten-_four_?"

"Huh?"

"It's an American expression. Ten-_four_, good buddy. I'm not entirely sure what it means, but I think it has something to do with CB radios—" she began to explain lazily.

"You're certain?" Conan interrupted quickly. "It's definitely ten-four?"

"Positive."

"Alright. Thanks, Haibara."

"Don't forget about my wal—"

Conan hung up and turned to Hattori. "She says the expression is 'Ten-_four_, good buddy.'"

"So the five _is_ significant."

"Looks that way."

They looked at each other, then the code, before suddenly shouting "_Got it!_" simultaneously.

Conan pulled out his notebook and pen and began to copy down the code as he glanced up at Hattori. "You thinking what I'm thinking?"

The Kansai detective smirked. "Every fifth letter, startin' with A an' endin' with N, the last letter of 'ten'—the word that the arrow points ta."

"Bingo." Conan returned the smirk and held up his version of the copied code: ALBU**Q**UERQ**U**E WAY **E**NDS H**E**RE TE**N**-5, GOOD BUDDY. "Q-U-E-E-N. Queen."

"An' as fer Soda-san's dyin' message…" Hattori's eyes wandered toward the blood-smeared cell phone inside the second evidence bag, which they had leaned against the wall. "…'Ceres' is the Roman goddess a' farmin'. I'm not positive, but I'm willin' ta bet that the English word 'cereal' is derived from her name."

"And 'cereal,' while not spelled that same, sounds an awful lot like another English word: 'serial'—as in, 'serial killer,'" Conan concluded. "So she figured out the code too, but she must have done so right when she was attacked; otherwise, she would have called the police."

"An' one of the forensics experts told me that they found gold paint chips where Soda-san was hit an' Hidori-san was stabbed. Maybe 'cause she's 'queen,' they were killed with somethin' like a scepter?" Hattori suggested.

"That explains why she was hit, too, instead of just stabbed. The killer wanted to incorporate something else in there: _crown_. As in, the crown of the head."

"So what's left now?" Hattori asked, counting off on his fingers. "We've got bishop, rook, an' queen, so…."

"Knight, king, and pawn," Conan finished.

"An' those people're probably Kudou Shinichi, Occhan, an' Hakuba." Hattori grinned. "Well, we know Kudou's safe. With the luck anyone tryin' ta find him'll have, he might as well not exist."

"We can protect Occhan easily enough. Maybe he and Ran can live with Agasa-hakase for awhile. Kisaki-san should probably be there, too; she'll more than likely be the target for Occhan. That leaves Hakuba. We can stop by his place tomorrow, after he gets home from school. Speaking of which, don't you have to go to school, too?" Conan raised an eyebrow at Hattori.

"It's fine; everyone'll just assume I'm tryin' ta track down the guy who tried ta kill Kazuha—which I am. But yer one ta talk. Or are ya above school now that yer set back ten years?" Hattori added tauntingly.

"I can get out of it easily enough, too. Besides, a day without crime would probably be good for the Shounen Tantei."

"But what I wanna know is," Hattori said, suddenly taking on a bitter tone, "why Soda-san and Hidori-san were killed before nine."

"The coroners said you missed the killer by a matter of minutes, so maybe the nine o'clock thing isn't a strict rule." Conan shrugged. "Maybe it just has to be within twenty minutes or so."

Hattori grunted, unappeased.


	6. Knight Part 1

**No cliffie last chapter, but I hope this chapter ends in enough of one.**

**And I'll be taking a short hiatus at the end of June until September, so I'll try to get the story wrapped up before then. What I hope to do is start updating once or twice a week until it's finished (or maybe less—depends on how long it takes me to write, but I'm making good time so far now that school's over…), and hopefully the end should be up by July. If not, then no more updates until September, maybe August if I'm close enough to the end.**

**So, on with the story!**

xXx

Conan's eyelids drooped as his head leaned to the side. He felt his ear brush the cool metal of the chair and he automatically blinked himself back into vigilance. He yawned. _Where's Hattori?_ he thought sleepily, glancing impatiently at the hospital door for the hundredth time since the other detective had dropped him off in the lobby. Though Conan completely understood why Hattori was lingering, he wished he had anticipated it when he had suggested stopping in Osaka to check up on Kazuha.

_After all_, Conan thought, shifting into a more comfortable position in the inherently uncomfortable lobby chair, _the culprit went from four days between kills to two_. _Following that pattern of halving the rest period, the next murder should occur within the next twenty-four hours_._ Good thing we already called Occhan to warn him_.

_But_…Conan's head fell lightly against the arm of the plastic chair; this time, he didn't bother waking himself before his half-lidded eyes fluttered closed. …_something else is bothering me_….

He didn't know how long he slept. It seemed like seconds before Hattori's overly loud voice startled him awake. "Oi! Ochibi-chan! Plenty a' time ta sleep on the train! Let's go!"

"'Bout time," Conan muttered, sitting up and lazily rubbing the sleep from his eye with the back of his hand. A few passing nurses cooed adoringly. Conan grimaced. "How long did I sleep?"

Hattori shrugged, beaming. "I dunno. But I was with Kazuha fer at least an hour or two—she's awake!"

Conan smiled softly, his foul mood quickly dissipating. The genuine look of total happiness on Hattori's face touched the shrunken teenager, and reminded him of…well, himself. It wasn't often that he could say that about Hattori in terms of his relationship with Kazuha; while their situation and history was practically identical to that of Shinichi and Ran, they argued much more frequently than the latter pair, occasionally making it difficult to find a parallel between their relationships (besides the obvious). In fact, Conan could only remember witnessing either Hattori or Kazuha demonstrating their powerful care for one another when at least one of them was in immediate danger.

"Ya know what she said right before I left?" Hattori said cheerfully as he walked Conan to the exit. "'Ahou, if ya don't catch that creep, I'll never fergive ya."

"How touching," Conan said sarcastically, snickering.

Hattori ignored him.

xXx

"Here ya go, Kudou." Hattori handed Conan a helmet when they reached his parked bike. He checked his watch before pulling on his own headgear. "We jus' missed the chance ta talk ta Hakuba before he got ta school, but we've got plenty a' time 'til it lets out. An' Hakuba might have a sport or club meetin', so that's even longer. I guess we'll just hang around 'til then. We should probably listen ta that recordin' too, since we couldn't on the train." When Conan made no response, Hattori glanced down at him concernedly. "Eh? Kudou? Somethin' wrong?"

Conan was still gripping the helmet, fingers clenched, hands shaking slightly. His head was bowed, and light reflected off his glasses in such a way that his eyes were obscured.

"…Kudou?"

"I just realized…" Conan muttered. "…what was bothering me before. Hattori." His head jerked up to look the taller detective in the eye, his expression dead-serious. "This guy plans everything out carefully. He knows exactly where his victims will be when he attacks, with one exception—but that was only because there was no way he could have foreseen that _your_ code would be solved just in time to save you. That means one of two things. One, Kudou Shinichi is not on his hit-list. Or two…he knows my identity."

xXx

"Otou-san! I'm home!" Nakamori Aoko called, slamming the front door behind herself. She paused, awaiting a response that never came, before sighing in disappointment. _Working late again_, she thought miserably, tossing the mail (which she had gathered on her way inside) onto the kitchen counter nonchalantly. _Stupid Kaitou Kid_.

Aoko was suddenly prevented from beginning another mental Kaitou Kid rant when she spotted an envelope addressed to her among the bills and magazines she had retrieved. When she had tossed the pile down, the individual pieces of mail had fanned out across the counter, uncovering the plain white stationary that captured her attention. Aoko lifted the aforementioned envelope gingerly and turned it over to inspect it, noticing the lack of a return address.

She carefully slit open the top of the envelope and withdrew a single sheet of printer paper, cut down to size for the purpose of fitting neatly inside the envelope without folding.

Aoko blinked at the English capital letters typed neatly across the paper. She blinked again. "…_What?_"

Utterly confused, Aoko slipped the paper into her backpack. _I'll just ask Hakuba-san if she knows what it means_, she reasoned. _Of course I can translate it, but it just doesn't make sense_…_maybe it's some sort of coded invitation?_ After all, while she had just returned from school, she and the rest of the class would have to return for their annual Ekoda High School lock-in. She had forced Hakuba to promise to attend, so it wouldn't be long until she could show him the paper—she knew he wouldn't break a promise to her. Besides, she really was completely baffled as to the deeper meaning of those words, for surely there had to be one.

The phrase "TO SEARCH" by itself just didn't make sense.

xXx

"Ahou. I'm sure there's jus' another detective. This is nothin' ta get worried about." Even as he said it, Heiji wasn't totally convinced that it was the truth. They had been searching for another Japanese detective who could potentially be a target for hours without any luck. Believe it or not, there actually weren't too many Japanese detectives or their caliber, and those that were, were either deceased, already thought of, or out of the country.

"Doubt it." Conan sighed. "I somehow know everyone on that list, even if I had only met him or her once. It's unlikely that the target will be someone I don't know, and I don't know any other detectives in Japan at the moment."

Heiji frowned. "Oi, not everythin' revolves around Kudou Shinichi, ya know."

"Maybe…maybe not." Conan immediately brightened. "Occhan's met all these people, too. Furthermore, he should have quite a few acquaintances among other detectives. And we didn't expand our search to include police detectives." Conan glanced at the clock on the wall of the Mouri detective agency. "At any rate, as soon as we finish lunch, we should probably head to Hakuba's house. By that time, it should be around four in the afternoon."

Heiji nodded as Ran stepped out of the kitchen, balancing plates of ramen. "Lunch is ready! Oh, Conan-kun—you look happier!" Ran smiled sincerely at the boy as she carefully placed lunch on the table. "I'm glad."

Conan nodded. "Uh…Heiji-niichan just told me that Kazuha-neechan's awake!"

_Oi, oi, ya've known that fer hours now_. _Ah, but she hasn't_…_!_ Heiji's eyes widened as he slowly turned to Ran, whose own eyes were narrowed in a rather frightening glare.

"Kazuha-chan's awake? And you've known for_ how _long, exactly?" Ran slammed one of the bowls of ramen onto the table, the contents lurching, almost spilling out.

"Uh…n-not long," Heiji stammered, warily keeping his eyes glued to the violently-handled bowl. _Damn, we fergot ta tell her_…. "'Bout a minute?" He laughed nervously as Conan rolled his eyes. _Yeah, brat, I'm a liar_—_what of it? Yer scared a' her, too_. "M-maybe two?"

"Oh," Ran sighed. "Good. I thought maybe you had known for awhile and hadn't told me. I didn't hear you talking to anyone on the phone, or acting excited, so…" she trailed off embarrassedly. "Well, um, help yourselves."

"Uh, Ran-neechan?" Conan piped up. Heiji did a double-take, still not totally used to that "little boy" voice. "When's Oji-san going to get back?"

Ran immediately became irritated again. "Who knows? He left his phone, which means he either went out drinking or he's hanging out with some _other woman_." Conan visibly flinched at the venom in her voice. Heiji would have giggled if he hadn't instinctively done so as well. "Either way, he's somewhere where he doesn't want me bothering him," she huffed.

"Oh. Okay…"

Ran cocked her head to the side curiously. "Why do you ask?"

"Ah, well, it's just that…" His eyes darted to Heiji, then to Ran resignedly. Heiji could tell exactly what he was thinking, and nodded in agreement: _No more lies_. "…Heiji-niichan said—" _Way ta throw me under the bus, kid_. "—Oji-san might be targeted by the guy who hurt Kazuha."

"Not jus' that," Heiji added. "We—_I_ also think he may be the _primary _target."

Ran gasped. "Do you know when he'll be targeted?"

Heiji shrugged. "He'll probably be last. But that still doesn't give us much time. We also need to figure out if he has any other detective acquaintances."

Ran nodded determinedly. "I'll find the phone book and check."

As she hurried back into the kitchen, Heiji scooped some ramen into his mouth hungrily—regardless of the fact that they had both stopped for breakfast on their way from the train station. "So, we can let Neechan handle Occhan, right? After lunch we'll grab Hakuba an' see if he can tell us who he's closest ta."

"Alright." Conan nodded, then lowered his voice. "But we really should listen to the tape recording as soon as possible. Obviously not in public—probably as soon as we get Hakuba."

"Eh?" Heiji pouted. "We're lettin' him in on the investigation? Do we have ta?"

"Baro. Do you really believe he'd let us just be on our merry way after we tell him that someone's trying to kill him? No, he'll force his way in if he has to." Conan furrowed his eyebrows, something apparently occurring to him. "Speaking of which, we don't necessarily have confirmation that the culprit won't come back to finish the job in your case."

"I thought a' that, too," Heiji admitted. "Knowin' won't do any good though—it's not like I'm gonna sit around in hidin' either way. An' Kazuha's parents're with her at all times."

Conan grinned, almost laughing. "Yeah, I know. You'll just have to be careful. I'd say disguise yourself as Kudou Shinichi, but we all know how well that goes over without Kaa-san to help you."

Heiji glared at the smirking child. "I was tryin' ta _help_ ya that time, ya ungrateful little—"

"I've got our address book!" Ran said triumphantly, returning from the kitchen.

"—adorable kid." Heiji quickly altered his sentence as Ran reappeared, ruffling Conan's hair for good measure—which he knew the kid hated, a fact that was further supported by the expression (which Heiji had appropriately named the "_oi, oi_ face") that he was sporting.

"Great, Ran-neechan!" Conan shook Heiji's hand off his head as Ran began to leaf through the pages of the book.

"I don't see any names I don't recognize…that's Otou-san for you," Ran sighed. "Never keeping track of anyone. I don't think even that detective who died a few days ago is in here."

"So much fer that," Heiji said after swallowing another mouthful of his lunch. "Guess we'll jus' ask Occhan when he gets back. Well—" He stood up from the table and gripped Conan's shoulder. "—if we leave for Hakuba's place now, we'll get back around five. C'mon, let's go."

"Oi, I'm not done yet!" Conan complained before taking an agonizingly slow mouthful. "Just because _you_ eat like an animal…"

Ran giggled and Heiji flushed angrily. "Ahou! I was jus' hungry!"

"Ne, Hattori-kun…" Heiji turned to Ran as she spoke, ignoring Conan for the time being. _I'll deal with ya later_. "Why do you always take Conan with you?"

"Oh, this brat?" Heiji ruffled Conan's hair again. He could have sworn he heard the boy growl, but Ran seemed oblivious. "He's my good luck charm!"

"But…Kazuha-chan once told me that you've never gotten injured more often than when you started hanging around us…isn't that why your oka-san tried to test Otou-san that one time?"

"Uh, well, that's…" Heiji scratched at his cheek nervously, scrambling to think up a good excuse. "He's not the same good luck as Kazuha's omamori…he's more like good luck with solvin' cases."

"Oh, okay!" Ran smiled brightly.

"An' there's another reason this time…" Heiji muttered darkly. "I also need Ku-K-_Conan_-kun 'cause we're goin' ta see Hakuba Saguru, an' considerin' the fact that of the two a' us, he's the only one that can kinda _stand_ that guy…."

"Ah, I see." Ran said as Heiji trailed off. "Well, good luck then! I'm going shopping with Sonoko for now—be back for dinner, Conan-kun!"

Conan nodded as Ran grabbed her purse and strolled out the front door.

"Time ta go, then?" Heiji said eagerly as soon as the door clicked shut.

Conan sighed, and stole one last bite. "I guess so. But I thought you just said that you hated Hakuba—why so fired up?"

"'Cause I can't jus' _sit_ here doin' nothin', ahou!" Heiji shouted.

xXx

"Exactly what is it that you're doing—" Kaito glanced up from his extensive list to see Koizumi Akako leaning over him, a playfully devious smile on his face. "—Kaitou KID-san?"

"Oi, oi, I don't care what your magic mirror or whatever says," Kaito muttered, adding another bullet point to his list. "I'm. Not. Kaitou. KID. Got it?"

"Whatever you say." The self-proclaimed witch straightened, tossing her hair over her shoulder smugly. "So that's not a list of ideas for your next heist, then?"

"Of course not." A wicked grin—one which made a couple of the surrounding students run for cover—replaced Kaito's irritated expression. "This is a lock-in. We have to stay here for the entire night—the doors lock when the sun sets. Aoko made Hakuba come. This is a list of potential pranks that I haven't pulled yet; I've been working on it all week."

She sighed heavily and grabbed her bag. "Well, I'm sorry about that wasted effort. In any case, I'm going home."

"Home? Already? It's only been an hour…" Kaito said, glancing at the wall clock. "And what do you mean, 'wasted effort'?" He quickly assumed an expression of utter horror. "He didn't change his mind, did he?"

"No, no, it's nothing. It's just that Lucifer told me that something is going to happen tonight—something with which I'd rather not be involved. Actually, if I were you, I'd leave, too. Or at least get a new face." Akako chuckled at her own joke as she hefted her bag and made her way to the classroom door.

_New face_…_?_ Kaito rolled his eyes at Akako's retreating figure in annoyance. _What's that supposed to mean?_

"You're leaving already, Akako-chan?" Kaito heard Aoko's disappointed voice. He glanced at the door to see Aoko entering as Akako left.

_That's right_, Kaito recalled. _Aoko went home before coming back so she could see if her father came home_. …_Huh, her father_…

"Ah, that's it!" he cheered happily, and quickly scribbled another addition: '_Call Hakuba pretending to be Nakamori-keibu_.' He hesitated. _Hm_…_then what?_

"What's it, Kaito?" Aoko unknowingly interrupted.

"Ah, Aoko!" Kaito quickly shoved his list off the desk with a flourish. "Nothing!"

Aoko placed her hands on her hips and frowned disapprovingly. "That was _not_ 'nothing.' What was it? Some piece of paper…"

Kaito arched an eyebrow and grinned. "Was it _white_ paper?"

"Uh…" Aoko blinked; her frown deepened. "BaKaito, of course it was white! It was just normal lined paper!"

"Did it match?"

"Huh?" Aoko was too confused to notice Kaito's hand, which was slowly moving toward her leg….

"Did. It. Match?" His grin widening, Kaito hooked his finger around the hem of Aoko's skirt and flicked his wrist. "Ah, it does!" he crowed triumphantly as her skirt flew upwards. "White again!"

"_Kaito!_" Aoko growled, reaching threateningly for her mop.

"Didn't we already go through this earlier?" An accented voice made Kaito and Aoko freeze, the latter with the mop raised above her head to strike, the former about to pull something out of his sleeve—literally. Hakuba stepped into the room as he spoke, and set his bags on his desk. "The first few times it's amusing, but then it just becomes bothersome—especially if you happen to be caught in the crossfire."

Kaito snickered. "You sure, Hakuba? You seemed to like having green hair this morning—and _I_ for one think it suited you."

Hakuba bristled, about to respond, when Aoko beat him to the punch. "Kaito! Stop bothering Hakuba-kun!"

Kaito pouted. "I wasn't _bothering_ him!" _Jeez…why does that irritate me so much? All she did was stand up for a conceited, stuck-up_—

"Ne, by the way, Hakuba-kun, I was wondering if you could help with something."

"Eh?" Aoko's voice brought Kaito back to reality. He blinked, registering what she had said, then scowled in indignation. "Oi, why can't I help?"

Aoko stuck out her tongue as she fished for something in her backpack. "You're not a detective."

"I could still probably figure it out just as well as Hakuba can," Kaito muttered under his breath bitterly.

"Ah, found it!" Aoko held up a scrap of paper triumphantly and passed it to Hakuba for his inspection. "Do you know what this means?"

"'To search'?" Hakuba quoted the words on the paper. "Well, in Japanese, it's my first name, _saguru_…"

Aoko nodded. "Yes, yes, I know, but I was wondering if it was some sort of…I don't know, coded invitation?"

Hakuba's eyes narrowed, first in confusion, then in suspicion. "What makes you think that?"

"It was mailed to me," Aoko explained. "In an unmarked envelope. That paper was the only thing inside, so I thought it was something I had to figure out…"

"Unmarked envelope, you say?" Hakuba demanded. When Aoko responded in the affirmative, he cursed. "Nakamori-chan, have you watched the news lately?" Aoko shook her head, and Hakuba explained the story of the serial killer on the loose.

"This code is simple," Hakuba continued, though Aoko had stopped listening; she was far too horrified by the discovery that someone may be trying to kill her. "But near impossible if you don't know what's going on. The culprit is working under the assumption that the word has gotten out, so he's probably been watching the news diligently."

"But Hakuba—" Kaito grabbed the paper from the detective's hand, noting Aoko's distraught expression. "—how do you know this has anything to do with that?"

"The answer should be a chess piece," Hakuba responded coolly. "As I said, the English word 'to search' translates to my first name. The codes the culprit uses are specific to each target detective. In that case, it's most likely indicating my full name. And 'Hakuba' in English means 'white horse,' which is the symbol for the _knight_ piece in chess—at least the white knight." Hakuba looked Aoko in the eye; Kaito shifted uncomfortably. "Nakamori-chan, you said your father wasn't at home when you checked. He must be at the police station—that will be the safest place for you at the moment."

"I'll bring her there," Kaito offered immediately. "You focus on yourself." Then, when he realized how harsh that sounded, he corrected himself: "Uh, I mean, keeping yourself safe."

Hakuba looked mildly disappointed, but he shrugged. "Have it your way."

"Hakuba Saguru and Nakamori Aoko?" Their teacher suddenly appeared in the doorway, looking slightly hesitant to enter—at least while Kuroba Kaito was present. "You've been called to the main office."

Hakuba nodded in understanding. "Alright, Sensei. We'll be there in a moment." He turned to Aoko, and said in a low hiss, "Did you tell anyone else about this?"

Aoko shook her head adamantly. "No."

Kaito stood up determinedly. "I'll go with you."

"Kuroba-kun," Hakuba said warningly, frowning. "Aoko's told no one else about this. In all probability, whoever is in the office is the killer." Aoko gasped.

"Then you'll need all the help you can get, ne?" Kaito pulled out his cell phone. "It's only ten after four; I'll call the police, too."

Meanwhile, about five minutes away from Ekoda High School, two other detectives were piled onto a motorcycle, speeding down the streets to that very school. They had been slightly put out to discover from Hakuba's baaya that he was in school, but they were confident that they would be able to reach him in time.

After all, it was only a little past four o'clock.

xXx

***I would like to apologize in advance for the extra-long ending A/N: I am slightly OCD, and would like each chapter to take up more space on the webpage than the last, even if it's just the A/N pushing it over…. However, I do ask questions of you readers in the first and last paragraphs of this super-long thing, so if you wouldn't mind reading/answering those (especially the last one—the first is kind of rhetorical)**

**So, an overview****: First paragraph=slightly-rhetorical question; Second=my Akako rant**; Third=Explanation for my choosing Hakuba's special person vs. the pairings that I advertised for the story; Fourth=Explanation of Conan's mental contrasting of his and Ran's relationship from Hattori's and Kazuha's relationship (from the beginning of the chapter); Fifth=Note to KID fans (don't worry, it's a happy note!); Sixth=Important question (PLEASE, _PLEASE_, _PLEASE_ ANSWER! I'm dying to know!)**

****Akako fans may want to keep away; Akako haters...PM me sometime and we can chat about it: i love to rant**

**That a good enough cliffhanger? (Please say yes—I tried to make it super dramatic, so I don't know if it turned out to be sort of corny or not….)**

**And yeah, I made Akako leave. To be honest, I kind of…what's the word? Oh, yeah—**_**hate**_** her. Plus, given her magic powers, she does NOT mix well with DC with its logical base. So, sorry to Akako fans—but you know, I never did make any promises about her even showing up, so deal with it. Let's change the subject before I start ranting about how I'll read any pairing except those that deals with Akako—whoops, there it is! (Haha, reference pun! Get it? …I think I may need to go back on my ADD medicine….)**

**But I digress. I know I said at the beginning that it's canon pairings, so if you're irritated about Aoko being Hakuba's special person…that **_**is**_** canon. Doesn't mean she feels the same, ne? ;P**

**Oh, and that thing about how the HeijiKazuha pairing isn't exactly like the ShinichiRan one? That's just my opinion. They seem the same when you look at Ran's and Shinichi's interactions with each other in the first episode, but after Shinichi switches to Conan, he treats Ran differently—and he was so arrogant in the beginning, he probably didn't even realize the character development himself. In the anime, Shinichi did mention, after all, that Satou and Takagi (who shall both make cameos in the next chapter—sort of. More or less. I won't give anything away) remind him of himself and Ran, and the former couple argues very rarely.**

**Also, KID fans: you're going to want to read the next chapter.**

**Oh, one more thing: does anyone know how Kaito refers to Akako? Is it Koizumi-san/-chan? I tried to mention her name as little as possible while the POV was following Kaito for that reason.**


	7. Knight Part 2

**Chapter 7! Man, we're just breezing through this thing now, huh?**

xXx

"Na-Nakamori-keibu?" Conan stammered, completely caught off-guard to find the leader of the Kaitou KID task force standing in the lobby of Ekoda High School.

"What're ya doin' here?" Hattori added rather rudely. "Is it KID?"

Nakamori shook his head. "Actually, it's my daughter. I found this on the counter with my other mail." He held up an envelope, which had obviously been torn open. "It's addressed to her, but there's no return address. I've been watching the news—have you boys heard of the person going around murdering detectives?"

Conan resisted the urge to laugh wryly. "Yeah."

"Well, they showed one of the letters on the news. It matches this one almost identically," Nakamori continued grimly.

Conan and Hattori shared a panicked glance. "Kazuha didn't get the code 'til an hour before the attack," Hattori noted in a whisper.

Conan nodded and turned to Nakamori. "Does your daughter know you're here?"

"I just asked someone to go get her and Hakuba-kun. It said on the news that the culprit was targeting detectives, and he's the only one Aoko knows personally…" Nakamori trailed off, staring at Hattori. "Ne, aren't you…?"

"Hattori Heiji, Detective of the West," Hattori finished proudly.

"So…as a detective, are you involved somehow?"

Hattori frowned, nodding. "My friend an' I were targeted. But I guess that's good news fer yer daughter—Kazuha's recoverin' quickly, an' I've never been bet—"

"Hattori, _look out_!" Conan shouted, jumping on Hattori to shove him out of the way of a rather large stone that had come crashing through the window, flying toward the Kansai detective's head.

Hattori rolled over as soon as he hit the ground, Conan having already leapt back. "Uh…never mind," Hattori mumbled meekly to Nakamori. "But, uh, we'll get the guy who threw that; jus' wait here fer yer daughter an' Hakuba." He sprung up immediately, and he and Conan made a mad dash for his motorcycle. Nakamori was fully prepared to follow them, but with one thought of his daughter, he decided against it. Rather, he opted to radio in for backup.

Hattori jammed a helmet on his head, tossed the other one to Conan, hopped on his bike, started it up, and grabbed Conan by the collar as he passed, hoisting the boy onto the spot behind him. "Hold on," he growled, honing in on the person who had thrown the stone, presumably the culprit. The figure was also on a motorcycle; however, he had a half a block's head start on them.

"Not lettin' him get away," Conan caught Hattori say as he wrapped his arms around Hattori's midsection; given the ferocity with which Hattori accelerated, he probably would have been tossed off if he hadn't. And Conan was doubtful that Hattori would have stopped for him if he _had_ lost his passenger.

xXx

"It's just Nakamori-keibu." Kaito sighed in relief and drew his head back from peering around the corner. "Guess we don't need to worry, huh?" he continued talking to himself. He had left Aoko and Hakuba in the classroom (under the watchful eye of Momoi Keiko—couldn't be too careful) and had gone down to check who was in the office by himself; if it _was_ the killer and he happened to spot Kaito, he wouldn't recognize him as a threat, as Hakuba had reasoned.

"I wonder why, though…" Kaito mused as he stuck his hands in his pockets and continued on to classroom 2-B. "I understand calling Aoko, it could be a family emergency, but the only reason he would call Hakuba is something to do with KID, and unless it's a copycat…" Kaito quickly snapped his mouth shut, glanced around for any wandering students, and continued mentally. …_I, being KID, would know about it_. _And it can't be what Hakuba's concerned about; Aoko said she didn't tell anyone else_.

Kaito was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he didn't notice Hakuba standing in the middle of the hallway—until he walked straight into him, that is.

"Kuroba-kun…" Hakuba snarled, sprawled on his back in the middle of the hallway. "Get. Off." Kaito complied immediately, leaping up as if electrocuted, while Aoko stood off to the side, trying (and failing) to suppress fits of giggling.

"It's, uh…just your dad," Kaito said to Aoko as Hakuba sat up. "It's fine. But I'll walk your guys down any—" A smashing sound coming from the lobby made Kaito freeze mid-sentence.

"What was _that_?" Hakuba demanded before sprinting toward the direction from which the sound had originated, Kaito and Aoko right on his tail.

The reached the lobby to find a stunned Nakamori holding his phone to his ear, a large rock among the remains of one of the windows, the secretary gaping at the front door from the main office, and the distinct sound of a motorcycle coming from outside. Hakuba dashed to the door, peered out, and, apparently upon realizing that a chase was out of the question without a vehicle of his own, returned to Kaito, Aoko, and Nakamori.

"Nakamori-keibu," Kaito began as Hakuba returned. "What happened?"

xXx

"Hattori, watch _out_!" Conan yelled as his leg narrowly missed hitting a fire hydrant.

"Don't worry, Kudou!" Hattori called back dismissively. "See that bridge up there? He'll have no choice but ta stop!" Conan peeked around Hattori to see that the detective was right—they were fast approaching a double-leaf bascule bridge, which was in the process of lifting to allow a particularly large boat passage under it. "We'll catch him fer sure!"

No sooner had the words left Hattori's mouth than he immediately realized that he had spoken too soon. The motorcyclist they were chasing had apparently absolutely no concern for barriers, nor disconnected bridges. Hattori skidded to a stop—which, to some extent, surprised Conan. After all, this was the guy who pursued a suspect onto train tracks, only giving up when he almost got them both killed by an oncoming train. On the other hand, anyone could tell that it would have been near impossible for them to clear the steadily-increasing gap between the bridge halves, regardless of whether their suspect—who had quite a few seconds on them—had done just that.

Both detectives watched in mixed disappointment and amazement as the cyclist accelerated up one of the rising sides of the bridge and continued to ride his vehicle off the edge. They inadvertently held their breaths as the suspect touched down roughly on the very edge of the opposite side and skidded the rest of the way down to safety.

"_Kuso!_" Hattori cursed at the retreating figure.

Conan sighed heavily. "Come on; let's just go back to Ekoda. Hakuba-kun and Nakamori-keibu's daughter have to be down by now."

Hattori rolled his eyes as he prepared to turn his motorcycle around. "Goody."

xXx

"Hattori-kun."

"Hakuba."

The exchange was curt, with slightly forced politeness on Hakuba's part and obvious aggression on Hattori's. The kid stood to Hattori's side, looking mildly annoyed, and Aoko stood away from Hakuba, right beside her father.

Kaito himself lurked behind Aoko, praising whatever whim had compelled him to bring a hat to school—a hat that could very effectively conceal enough of his face that his identity as Kaitou KID wouldn't be suspected. In fact, it was the very hat he had worn during that heist when he had revealed his teleportation trick—when he had cornered tantei-kun and rattled off Thurston's Three Principles.

"Ne, Hakuba-niichan?" Conan spoke up, breaking the awkward silence that had quickly developed with his annoyingly high-pitched voice. "Do you want to investigate with us? It seems you'll be attacked in a few hours."

Hakuba nodded, then turned to Nakamori. "Nakamori-keibu, I think Nakamori-chan would be safest at the police station. The detectives are the main targets, so if you can keep her out of harm's way until at least ten o'clock tonight, I don't think the culprit will bother. Would you agree?" he asked Hattori and Conan with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, sounds 'bout right," Hattori asserted reluctantly.

"In that case, I'm coming with you." Kaito grinned at Aoko from underneath the brim of his hat. "Someone's got to look out for you, and Hakuba's obviously not." His comment immediately earned him glares from both Hakuba and Nakamori. "…Uh, well, obviously the great Nakamori-keibu can handle you, his own daughter, but someone's got to be around to, um, you know, get you a snack or something while he's busy looking out for danger." Kaito's feeble amendment to his previous statement managed to appease Nakamori, but Hakuba's glare did not waver. _Oh well, he's always irritated with me for something_.

"Well, don't worry Hakuba-niichan!" Conan chirped. "We can protect you, too!"

Kaito snickered. Hakuba's expression did not change.

xXx

"Ne, Hakuba-niichan, who was that guy?" Conan asked as he slid into the police car beside the blonde detective. Hattori's bike couldn't fit three (and there was no way in hell he would have Hakuba sitting behind him, of all people), so Hakuba decided to hitch a ride with one of the officers who had responded to Nakamori-keibu's earlier call. Much to Hattori's chagrin, Conan had opted to ride with Hakuba as opposed to the Kansai detective. They had decided to meet up at the Kudou mansion; with Hakuba as a potential target, it would be too dangerous to bring him to the detective agency or Agasa-hakase's house.

"Which guy?" Hakuba smirked. "The one practically hiding behind Nakamori-chan?" Conan nodded. "Just a classmate of mine. Nakamori-chan's childhood friend—" he shot Conan a sidelong, strangely knowing look "—Kuroba Kaito." He looked like he was about to say more, but he instead chose to keep silent.

After a few beats of this silence, Hakuba addressed Conan again: "Are you sure it's fine to use that guy's house? That, uh, 'Kurou' guy?" Another glance at Conan, this one in time to spot his mildly irritated, you-have-no-idea expression.

"Kudou. Kudou Shinichi," the boy instinctively corrected. "Yeah, it's fine. There's a guy living there for the time being, a student, but he's on vacation right now, so it's empty."

"And this Kudou Shinichi guy won't be coming home any time soon?"

Conan chuckled. "No, no, I can pretty much guarantee that."

"I wonder where he is…" Hakuba commented; Conan couldn't tell if it was directed at him or if he was talking to himself. "…and from what he's hiding."

"Wh-why would he be hiding from anything?" Conan protested nervously.

"You don't just one day pick up and leave, not when you only have one home. His parents are touring the country, I know that, but in all their public appearances, their son has not been with them," Hakuba elaborated. "You're his relative, ne?"

"Uh…yeah." Conan blinked, the nervousness escalating into flat-out worry. "How did you know?"

"You look like him," Hakuba remarked off-handedly. "Him and Kuroba-kun."

Conan mentally filed that comment away for later; at the moment, something else was concerning him. _For a guy who mistook my name for 'Kurou' five seconds ago, he sure knows a lot about me and my parents _—_wait_. _Is it possible that this guy_… Conan glanced at Hakuba, who has staring out the car window. …_suspects something? I suppose it makes sense; the last two times I saw him, I didn't exactly make an effort to be childish_. _He even said at the Detective Koushien that I was 'surprisingly good at deduction_._'_

"A-at any rate…" Conan quickly changed the subject. "…now that I think about it, your clue brings something to light."

"Oh?" Hakuba turned to Conan, interest apparently piqued.

"All the target detectives were somehow related to the chess piece that was assigned to them. It wasn't random," he explained. "I didn't realize it before because I hadn't really thought about it, but it makes sense now." Conan began to tick off the detectives on his fingers. "Mogi-san was Catholic; Soda-san was the only female detective, so of course it's natural that she be the queen; your last name is obviously a direct link, the culprit even incorporated it into the code; and Hattor—uh, Heiji-niichan is most well-known for a case in which he was involved regarding some castle in Osaka—I think it might have even been his break-out case." Conan blinked when he realized what he was saying, and fought the urge to slap himself. _Ah yes, Shinichi, he's suspicious, so the best way to relieve him of said suspicion is to make a deduction right in front of him_. "At leastthat's what Heiji-niichan said."

Hakuba hummed in acknowledgement. "Is that what Hot-Blooded-kun said?"

"Yeah." Conan snorted before falling back into his childish tone. "Actually, Heiji-niichan also said a lot of stuff about the case that you should probably know…"

xXx

Heiji checked his watch. He had only been waiting for a few minutes, five at the most, but it seemed like an eternity. Conan hadn't told him where the spare key to the Kudou place was, so he couldn't even waste time inside, or at least secure the perimeter for the impending attack on Hakuba. And he couldn't listen to that tape recording either, given that Conan had locked it inside the house for safe keeping.

He was extremely relieved when he finally spotted the police car leisurely rolling down the street. The officer braked just in front of Hattori, and pulled away again when Conan and Hakuba clambered out of the backseat, thanking the police officer and chuckling for an unknown reason.

"…so _finally_ I informed him that he was being childish—I still don't think he ever figured out what I meant," Conan laughed. "Oh, hi, Hattori!"

Hakuba smirked. "Well, it would seem you've beaten us here."

"An' I've been waitin' fer ten minutes!" Heiji exaggerated angrily. "An' _you_…" he growled as he turned to face Conan. "…it's not polite ta address adults without honorifics, ya know."

"Baro." Conan nodded at Hakuba. "He knows."

Heiji was stuck somewhere between shock, horror, anger, and amusement. The anger was winning. "Ahou! What were ya thinkin'? Ya can't jus' go around tellin' everybody ya meet!"

"He found out more or less the same way as you did," Conan pointed out. "Are you saying I shouldn't have told you?"

"I didn't need ya ta tell me, I already figured it out!"

"Hakuba didn't need me to tell him, either."

"E…Eh?"

Hakuba sighed impatiently. "Conan-kun—ah, I mean, Kudou—said something about a tape recorder that needs investigating, so I'll make this quick."

xXx

_Hakuba nodded at Conan's extensive recollection of events and spoke in a hushed voice, as if he didn't want the officer driving to hear. "So that's all you know so far, Kudou-kun?"_

_Conan nodded. "Yeah, that's about it—" He froze. "Wait, Hakuba-niichan, what did you just call me?"_

"_Your name," Hakuba said nonchalantly, at a normal volume, as he folded his arms across his chest. "That's who you are, ne?"_

"_No, no! I'm Conan-kun, Conan-kun!" Conan corrected uneasily._

"_Who said you can't be both?" Hakuba sat back laxly and leaned closer to the boy in order to keep his voice at a low level. "I know you are, and I'm willing to bet Hattori-kun does as well. There's no point in denying it; after the Detective Koushien, I became a bit suspicious. Not that I wasn't before, but at that time I was rather busy with my studies in England, and at the time of the Koushien, I had enough time to look into it. There is absolutely no record of Edogawa Conan anywhere. And the first time Conan-kun was introduced to a case involving the police corresponds directly to the last time Kudou Shinichi worked on a case with the police. Kudou and Conan have never been in the same place twice_—_except for one time, as I gathered from certain Teitan High School students. It was during some play; however, at that time, Hattori also attempted to disguise himself as Kudou_—_I wonder why that was?"_

_Hakuba paused after his rhetorical question. "Furthermore, I heard from a young lady named Suzuki that whenever Kudou and Conan were together at that time, a certain serious-looking girl wasn't around. But if you really want proof before you admit anything freely, there's the fact that you have both Conan's and Kudou's phones in your pockets."_

_Conan's hand reflexively reached for his pocket. "How did you_—_?"_

_Hakuba shook his head in mock disappointment. "Really, Kudou, I wouldn't have thought you'd have fallen for that. Of course I knew that you had two phones on you_—_there are identically-shaped bulges in both your front pockets_—_but I had no way of knowing to whom they belonged. Now, do you want to tell me what's going on? Remember to keep your voice down," he added, motioning toward the officer in the driver's seat._

xXx

"That's about it." Hakuba shrugged. "He rather reluctantly told me the whole story."

"With the officer listenin' in?" Heiji gaped incredulously.

"It's fine; he's deaf in the right ear," Hakuba assured him. "He can hear whispering, but he can't make out the words at all."

Heiji grunted skeptically. "So, Kudou, ya gonna let us inside or what?"

"Sure." Conan strode to the door and retrieved the spare key from its hiding place, Heiji and Hakuba trailing behind. Once the teenagers were inside, Conan shut the door behind them. "I left the tape under the couch you were sleeping on, Hattori."

"Why under the couch?" Hakuba asked as Heiji located the couch and slipped his hand into said hiding place.

"We were in a hurry—ta save ya, I might add—an' we didn't want ta leave it out in the open," Heiji explained irritably as he set the plastic bag on the coffee table. He reached into a pocket for his handkerchief for handling the tape recorder, but Hakuba, wearing a glove, beat him to it; he pulled the bag away from Heiji and set the recorder on the table. Heiji stuffed his handkerchief back into his pocket bitterly.

"We should turn this bag into the police when we've listened to it," Hakuba pointed out as Conan joined them. "Especially the money."

Conan nodded in agreement. "Right. But for now, play the tape." He pulled out his notebook. "I'll write a transcript."

Hakuba hit the play button and a low, gravely voice filtered out of the small speakers. "He's using a voice scrambler," Conan noted immediately as the culprit began to speak in Japanese:

"Hello, Endou-san. You do not know me, but I know you—and I have a proposition for you. I need help. My daughter has been kidnapped, and only Hidori Ikumi-tantei can help me retrieve her. However, Hidori-tantei has departed on vacation, and is refusing to take on any work at present. If you would, I need you to go to Hidori-san's detective agency and ask her receptionist for her specific location. You would claim to be a niece of Hidori-tantei's husband, Hidori Keiichi, and tell the receptionist that there is a family emergency. You would wear the bug that I have taped onto the back of this tape recorder so that I may hear the location given. On your way home, you would drop the bug in the creek that runs behind the detective agency.

"Should you decide to assist me, I would pay you 50,000 yen—money is no object when it comes to my daughter's life. You will find the money in a plastic bag in your mail-slot immediately upon you return from my errand.

"Forgive the secrecy, but tracking down Hidori-tantei and begging her for assistance could be considered 'stalking'—I can't go to jail when my daughter is in such danger. But do not fear for your own freedom; asking about Hidori-san's location is not a crime, nor is taking the identity of a non-existent niece. If you choose to accept, please tap on the bug three times and say, 'This is Endou Kimiko; I accept,' into it. If not, please crush the bug underfoot and dispose of it. Please consider my offer. Thank you." The last sentence was spoken in English.

"Wait. Pause it," Hakuba suddenly commanded. He turned to the other two as Conan did so. "Did you hear that?"

Heiji nodded, staring at the recorder. "I think so."

"Hear what?" Conan asked with some annoyance; he wasn't used to being out of the loop.

Heiji leaned forward to rewind the recording a few seconds. "Listen."

Conan obeyed, concentrating. Suddenly, he gasped. "Did he just say…?"

"When you grow up in a certain country, speaking a certain language, and then attempt to learn another language—especially one from a completely different language system—you may learn that you are physically incapable of pronouncing certain sounds from this second language." Hakuba mused.

"Like how many Japanese people who learn English later in life have trouble pronouncin' sounds like 'er' and 'th' that're used in English, but not Japanese," Heiji added with a sidelong glance at Conan.

"Oi, why are you looking at me like that?" Conan frowned.

"Nothin'," Heiji averted his gaze and began whistling innocently.

Conan rolled his eyes. "So from the way he pronounced the 'th' sound in 'thanks,' we now know he's not a native English speaker, but he wants us to think he is—there's no other reason why he would keep using clues that are in English. But why?"

"Could be as simple as tryin' ta throw us off. Maybe he's really Japanese, but usin' English would cause us ta be on the look-out fer somebody foreign," Heiji remarked.

"In any case, I'll call the police and have them pick this up," Hakuba said as he pulled out his cell phone.

"Furthermore," Heiji continued as Hakuba began speaking to someone on his phone, "that whole missin' daughter thin' is obviously a lie. An' I suppose there's no way we're gettin' that bug back."

"And I doubt we're getting prints off this bag or this recorder, considering how cautious this guy is," Conan commented. "And the money's absolutely useless."

"Okay, thanks." Hakuba pulled the phone away from his ear and thumbed the power button. "They said they're coming here to get the evidence, and they're leaving a few officers to guard the place; seems Nakamori-keibu called them already. They wanted us at the station, but I declined; too many people could get inadvertently injured in public."

Heiji and Conan nodded simultaneously. "Good thinkin'," the former admitted.

xXx

After Conan had led the boys to his library to bide their time (reading, of course; Queen for Hattori, Doyle for Conan and Hakuba), three officers had shown up: Shiratori-keibu, Takagi-keiji, and Satou-keiji.

_Thank Kami for Kobayashi-sensei, or this would be way too awkward_, Conan thought when the police let themselves in to inform the detectives of their arrival.

"Shiratori-keibu volunteered to remain in here with you," Satou-keiji said, "while I patrol the perimeter and Takagi-kun takes the evidence you left on the coffee table for us." She turned to Hattori. "And as per your request, Hattori-kun, we've asked Mouri-san to compile a list of his detective acquaintances. But he says it may take awhile to get in contact with them; it seems that their numbers are all stored in his cell phone, but he's lost the charger for it."

Conan sighed. _Of course he has_.

"Don't worry." Shiratori-keibu smiled confidently. "We'll catch him."

Satou-keiji and Takagi-keiji nodded and departed, leaving Shiratori-keibu behind.

"You can sit in that seat there," Conan offered a chair in the corner to the inspector as he laid a worn copy of _The Valley of Fear_ on the arm of his chair. "There's still another half an hour until nine, so you can read a book if you want—I'm sure Shinichi-niichan won't mind."

Shiratori-keibu nodded. "Uh, thank you, but I'm supposed to be on duty." He eyed the shelves in awe. "Quite the extensive collection, though." His head snapped back to look Conan in the eye. He raised an eyebrow, grinned, and asked a question:

"Got any Leblanc, tantei-kun?"

The three detectives sprung up as if on cue, Hakuba growling "_KID_," Conan bending down to place a hand on his shoe, and Hattori reaching for the nearest stick.

"Oi, relax!" Not-Shiratori-keibu put his hands up defensively, speaking in a voice that _definitely_ did not match his face. "I'm here to help!" None of the detectives moved, still eyeing him with suspicion. "I _heard_ on the news that my precious detectives may be in danger, so I've been hanging around the police station to see if there was anything I could do." He ripped off the Shiratori-keibu mask to unveil the face of Kaitou KID, complete with monocle but lacking a top hat, leaving his messy dark hair exposed. "It said that tantei-han over there was already targeted, so there was nothing I could do in regards to that, but I knew tantei-san and tantei-kun were bound to be involved, so how could I just sit by idly and watch?"

"How'd ya know Kud—ah, C-Conan-kun would be involved?" Hattori stammered, grip tightening on the lamp in his grasp—the closest thing to a stick he could find in the Kudou library. "He's not known as a detective outside a' yer heists."

KID shrugged. "He's always around you anyway. I assumed if you were in danger, tantei-kun would help out. But anyway, what can _I_ do to help?"

"Leave?" Hakuba suggested dryly. "Take off that monocle, maybe?"

"Now, now, tantei-san, how will _that_ save your life?"

"It won't. But at least I'll die happy."

"If ya don't shut it, that'll be sooner than ya think," Hattori grumbled loudly.

"Actually, I was thinking now that it's getting close to nine, we should move to the hall before the front door; if there's a problem, it will be easier for Satou-keiji to warn us," Conan pointed out.

"It might also make it easier for the culprit to get to tantei-san if he or she manages to incapacitate Satou-keiji," KID pointed out.

"I don't know how long you were around Satou-keiji, but that's not exactly easy to do," Conan chuckled, recalling the wedding poster that had plastered multiple buildings in Tokyo for months. "We'd at least hear shooting. Whereas in here, we wouldn't hear a thing." He rapped on the wall with his knuckles. "Virtually soundproof."

"Alright," Hattori agreed, shrugging before he followed Conan from the room. As the group made their way to the hallway, Conan and Hattori attempted to ignore the muttered threats and witty responses emanating from the boys trailing them.

They had no sooner reached their destination when they heard the sound of glass shattering as an arrow flew through the nearest window—straight for Hakuba's head.

xXx

…**Yeah, I like it when dangerous objects come flying through windows. That's twice in one chapter! This culprit really doesn't like direct confrontation, does he? Oooh, more profiling my own OCs! I had so much fun doing that with Hattori in that other chapter when I needed them to kill time—I mean, when they were doing important detective work, as per usual!**

…**I think I watch too much Criminal Minds**


	8. Pawn Part 1

**Just a note: this is sort of set in Movieverse, so KID can follow the conversation when they start talking about Shinichi and Conan being the same person.**

xXx

"Watch out!" Kaito, under the guise of Kaitou KID, shouted automatically, reaching out to shove Hakuba's head out of range. "_Kuso!"_ he hissed as the arrow clipped his upper arm; he lost his balance and knocked both himself and the detective to the ground. "Look at that," he said pointedly as Hakuba stared in shock at the arrow lodged in the wall, "I helped."

"Ya alright?" Hattori asked concernedly, gaze shifting from Kaito and Hakuba to the arrow in the wall, then to the shattered window.

Conan kneeled beside them to inspect Kaito's wound. "It's not bad. Just put pressure on it." He tore off the end of the right sleeve of Kaito's Shiratori suit and tied it tightly around the abrasion.

"What're we waitin' fer?" Hattori growled. "Let's go after him! An' come ta think a' it, how'd he get past—"

"Satou-keiji!" Conan cried, dashing out the door with Hattori on his heels. Kaito and Hakuba clambered to their feet and followed suit. The shrunken detective threw open the door and looked around wildly. "I don't see her." He gestured to the front gate, which had been flung open. "Hattori, you and KID go after the culprit. Hakuba and I will search in the yard to see if we can find Satou-keiji."

Kaito nodded immediately, as did Hakuba; Hattori grimaced before doing so as well. Kaito ripped off the Shiratori suit, miraculously managing to keep in place the bind that Conan had created for his wound. Now clothed in white, he clambered up the wall surrounding the Kudou mansion and activated his hang glider, praying that he was up high enough to use it, considering how favorable the wind conditions happened to be. He leapt off the wall and breathed a sigh of relief when he managed to stay in the air; meanwhile, Hattori rushed to his motorcycle and drove to a position right below Kaito.

"I see him!" Kaito called to the helmeted detective, gesturing toward another figure on a motorcycle down the street.

Hattori cursed. "There's construction goin' on down the road—this guy's nuts; odd's are we'll lose him there."

"Then we'd better catch him before then." Kaito grinned and winked. Hattori nodded in understanding as he accelerated.

Kaito pointed the hang glider upward, riding a convenient gust of wind. As he climbed, he realized that Hattori was correct: there was a construction site down the street. What Hattori hadn't mentioned, however, was how close it was; they had virtually seconds before the culprit reached it. And Hattori…_what is he __doing__?_ Kaito wondered incredulously. The Kansai detective had stopped in the middle of the street, and was climbing off his bike to inspect something on the sidewalk.

_Well, now or never_, Kaito decided, noticing the culprit was feet away from the construction site, which was currently abandoned, given that it was slightly past nine in the evening. _It's good that Hattori stopped; he wouldn't be able to follow into this site_._ But __I_ _can_. Kaito swooped down, aiming to knock the culprit off his bike.

He gasped as the culprit twisted around, a crossbow in hand, and sent a second arrow flying Kaito's way. "Oi!" he shouted as he narrowly avoided the weapon. "You already got me with one of those things!" As Kaito finished speaking, he realized to his shock that he was steadily sinking. _Wait, why am I descending?_ He twisted his head, and his eyes widened in horror when he spotted a gaping hole in his hang glider, which the arrow had apparently pierced.

He spotted the culprit ride off a ramp to avoid a patch of still-drying cement as Kaito touched down gracefully and deactivated his hang glider.

"Lost him," he grunted as he approached Hattori, who was still leaning over something on the sidewalk.

Hattori glanced up at Kaito and cursed, but then shrugged resignedly. "Regardless, I foun' Satou-keiji." Hattori used a handkerchief to pick up the thing on the ground, which Kaito quickly realized was a mask. "Seems ya weren't the only one disguisin' as an officer."

xXx

"Well, that was a lot easier than expected," Conan commented when Hattori and KID told him what had happened as they returned to the mansion.

"But what about Ao—Nakamori-keibu's daughter?" KID stuttered. "A little birdie told me that she was the other one in danger." He whistled and one of his doves fluttered over to perch on his shoulder. He smirked at his own joke; Saguru rolled his eyes, but quickly changed his tone. _Now why's he so concerned, hm?_

"And why would that matter to you?" Saguru smirked; he was sure that "KID"—*cough* Kuroba *cough*—would have flinched if he hadn't had his poker face in place.

"It doesn't," the thief said nonchalantly, shrugging. "Is it a crime to be curious?"

"Even if it were, it wouldn't extend your expected sentence; counting your crimes from eight years ago, you've accumulated enough years to be away for life when caught. Unless, of course, you aren't the same person as the Kaitou KID of eight years ago…" Saguru replied suggestively.

Conan and Hattori glanced between the two rivals confusedly.

KID quickly changed the subject, ostensibly jocose. "Well, well, tantei-san. Maybe _I_ should have been selected to be that person you care about most—you seem much more focused on me than the young lady who _was_ selected."

Saguru arched an eyebrow. "Jealous?"

"Of the young lady?" KID shook his head, chuckling. "No, no, I'm afraid not, tantei-san, as much as I'm sure you wish that I was…."

"You know what I mean," Saguru hissed before turning to a snickering Hattori. "Shut up!"

"You know, I was wondering something," Conan put in after effectively containing his laughter. "Is Nakamori Aoko your girlfriend, Hakuba-kun?"

"_No_," KID said quickly. "Uh…n-no way tantei-san could _ever_ get a girlfriend! Especially not Nakamori-keibu's daughter!"

"And why's that?" Saguru said, affronted. He was too busy with being mildly insulted to notice that KID had slipped slightly.

"Because you're…" KID shrugged. "…well, you're _you_. Besides, I place bugs in your classroom; she's _definitely_ into that Kuroba guy."

"Bugs?" Saguru repeated skeptically, torn between focusing on that aspect of the sentence or the one where KID basically indirectly admitted that he was in love with Nakamori-chan…assuming he was Kuroba Kaito. Suddenly Saguru's expression softened in enlightenment and he blinked. "Bugs…_that_'s how the culprit knew to target Nakamori-chan. He must have bugs in our classroom!"

"Well, yeah." Hattori rolled his eyes. "We already established that he's spyin' on all a' us."

"But maybe the bugs are still there." Saguru turned to Hattori and Conan eagerly. "If we can track down where the bugs came from, we could find the culprit!"

"You're sure that the culprit could know about your multiple failed attempts to ask the ojou-san on a date by placing bugs in your classroom _only_?" KID asked.

"Of course. Why would I ask her without Kuroba-kun there?"

"You—"

"It won't work," Conan deadpanned, interrupting KID. Saguru turned a confused gaze on the boy. "The culprit plans ahead; he'd know better than to leave bugs behind. Once he got the information needed, he probably retrieved the bugs—most likely weeks ago."

"Well, that's a dead end. Let's call Nakamori-keibu." KID pulled out a cell phone and began to dial.

"Oi!" Hattori checked his pockets. "Is that my phone?"

"How do you know Nakamori-keibu's phone number?" Conan asked innocently while Hattori muttered something like, "This is gettin' old."

"Elementary, my dear Watson!" KID said cheekily. "I've stolen tantei-san's phone before," he explained, gesturing toward Hakuba, "usually to call Nakamori-keibu using his voice. I had it memorized after the first time."

"Actually, Holmes never said that in any of the original works written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle," Conan quickly corrected.

"The closest he ever came to it was simply saying 'Elementary' after explaining a deduction to Watson," Saguru added. "He has also addressed Watson as 'my dear Watson,' but never were the two phrases placed side-by-side in the text."

"Shut up; I'm on the phone." KID cleared his throat and muttered a few phrases under his breath in a voice that Saguru recognized to be his own. Saguru rolled his eyes as someone apparently picked up the phone and KID began speaking at normal volume. "Ah, Nakamori-keibu! It's Hakuba Saguru. I just wanted to check up on Nakamori-chan, since I was just attacked." KID nodded. "Okay. Got it. He just left us a few minutes ago, and we're in Beika right now—just wanted to give you a heads-up. …Alright, I'll talk to you then."

Just as KID hung up, Hattori's phone began to ring. He checked the called ID. "Ah, Mouri-tantei. Here." He tossed the phone at Hattori, who fumbled with it and shot the thief a glare as he answered.

"Oh, Occhan! What's up?" Hattori said cheerfully. "…Whaddaya mean?…She _did_? But….Okay, then, let's hear 'em….Whaddya mean _ya got nothin'_?…Well, _he_ doesn't count, not if he's in jail….Okay, okay. Thanks, anyway." Hattori sighed as he hung up.

He turned to the others. "Occhan only knows one other detective, an' he's in jail fer that Miracle Land incident from three months ago."

Saguru glanced at KID bemusedly; the thief seemed to know exactly what Hattori was talking about. "Miracle Land incident?"

"Uh…don't worry about it," KID said nervously, which only made Saguru more curious.

"Does this have anything to do with my clothes that went missing around that time, only to miraculously reappear folded on my bed two days later?"

"…Maybe."

"Wait…" Conan said, appearing to be deep in thought. "Hattori, how did Occhan know to call you?"

"Satou-keiji said—" Hattori started, but interrupted himself with a gasp. "It wasn't Satou-keiji."

"But the culprit told Mouri-san to call Hattori anyway," KID noted. "Why?"

"He must not have cared," Saguru concluded. "Mouri-san doesn't know the last target, and the culprit realizes that. And that most likely means—"

"—Occhan isn't the primary target," Conan finished. "So who is?"

xXx

"Kaito!" Aoko yelled furiously. "Where _were_ you?"

"Nowhere," Kaito muttered evasively. Upon realizing that the threat to his detectives had, for the time being, been avoided, Kaito had excused himself as KID with the pretext of needing to prepare for his next heist.

Besides, given that they had decided to spend the night at the Kudou mansion and see what they could work out in the morning, Kaito figured it would be much safer to _not_ join them; he was a heavy sleeper, and regardless of the unspoken truce between himself and the detectives, he still didn't trust any of them—well, mostly he just didn't trust Hakuba.

"'Nowhere'? What do you think—" Aoko was cut off from her budding tirade when she saw the bandage on Kaito's arm. "What did you do to your arm?"

"Uh…that's…" Kaito glanced at his arm; only about a quarter of it was covered by his t-shirt, and the large bandage he had retrieved from his house poked out from the bottom. _Oops_—_should've worn a jacket_. "…that's why I stopped home, which is where I was. I cut my arm on…uh…on…" His eyes flicked around the room until they settled on one of the numerous desks in the police station. "…a desk! I was going to get you a sandwich, like you asked, but I, uh, tripped, and the corner of the desk snagged my arm." Kaito laughed. "It wasn't bad, but it was bleeding, so I went home to get a bandage and disinfect it! And you know that feeling you have right now: the _guilt_? That's what you get for treating me like a slave." He stuck out his tongue playfully.

However, instead of breaking down and apologizing, Aoko stared at him blankly. "Okay. So where's my sandwich?"

"E-Eh?" Kaito blinked confusedly. _Surely she doesn't expect_…

"BaKaito!" Aoko screamed, reaching for the mop with which her father had no doubt supplied her, given that it was her weapon of choice. "You didn't get it? You took _hours_ to get a stupid bandage and you couldn't stop for five minutes to get me a _snack_? Besides that, half of Otou-san's officers have been searching for you because we thought you could have been kidnapped by the culprit!"

Okay, that was an unanticipated consequence. Kaito felt legitimately guilty about that point. "Okay, sorry, sorry. But you no longer have to worry, because Kuroba Kaito is here!" He moved to pump his fist in the air confidently, but on the way up, his knuckle caught on the lip of a flower vase positioned on one of the desks. "O-Oi!" Kaito lunged to catch the vase before it fell; Aoko giggled as he righted it. _Mission accomplished_, he thought, satisfied in his ability to make her laugh.

"How about we go get that sandwich, huh?" Kaito suggested. Aoko nodded brightly and began to skip toward the back of the police station. "Oi, Aoko! Where're you going?"

"The break room's in the back." Aoko turned around and smiled. "Actually, it's Otou-san's private break room—it used to be an empty supply closet, so Otou-san moved a bunch of Kaitou KID files and a vending machine in there."

_If you had a vending machine this whole time, why didn't you get a snack yourself?_ Kaito silently wondered as Aoko continued to describe the break room.

"No one's been in there since I got home from school, since Otou-san's been so worried about the serial killer. It's a good thing too; I don't think more than two people could comfortably fit. I did say it used to be a supply closet, after all, and now that Otou-san's added a vending machine and all those files….He wanted to add a coffee maker, too, but there isn't a counter to put it on, and if he tried to install one, there wouldn't be enough space for _him_. Plus, he couldn't put it on top of the filing cabinet because it's too tall—Kaito, are you listening?"

Kaito blinked himself into awareness. "Uh, yeah, 'course."

Aoko glanced over her shoulder skeptically. "Anyway, I don't really care for the snacks in the machine, but I guess we have no choice. Did I mention you have to pay?"

"Jeez…" Kaito grumbled as Aoko arrived at the door to the supply closet and twisted the knob. As the door opened, he spotted two small metal boxes on either side of the closet, both about an inch above the ground and just past the doorway. _Those are_—! "Aoko, _stop_!"

"Huh?" Aoko turned to face Kaito—but not before she stepped in the path of the boxes. Kaito grabbed her wrist and yanked her away from the door and face-first into his chest.

"Aoko, don't move," Kaito said, wrapping his other arm around her shoulders to keep her in place. As he did so, a long, sword-like blade slid out of a hole in the right side of the doorframe and stabbed the opposite side. Kaito winced; judging by the height of the blade, it would have skewered Aoko just below her rib cage.

"K-Kaito?" Aoko whispered.

"Don't worry, Aoko. It's okay." Kaito quickly released his grasp, feeling just a little awkward. "Stay right here. Do _not_ move for anything; there could be more booby traps. I'm going to go get your dad."

"Wait, Kaito!" Aoko grabbed his arm as he tried to leave. "How did you know there was something there?"

Kaito turned and gestured toward the closet. "See those metal things inside the closet on both sides? They're infrared sensors. It's a trap; when you stepped inside the closet, they sensed your movement."

Aoko's eyes widened at him. "How did you know?"

"Uh…" Well, the truth wasn't an option. "…spy movies. You know, like James Bond."

Aoko tilted her head to the side. "James Bond? Ah, the American spy!"

"Yep!" Kaito grinned: _Distraction!_ "Now I'm going to go find your father—stay right here, okay?"

xXx

"_Moshi mosh_—"

"Hi, tantei-kun!"

"…_KID?_ How did you get this number?" Conan demanded. Hattori and Hakuba looked up attentively.

"That's irrelevant. And I assume tantei-san and tantei-han are currently straining their ears to hear?"

"That would be a 'yes,'" Conan confirmed with a glance at the other detectives.

"As tempted as I am to deny them of an update, why don't you put your phone on speaker?" KID suggested.

Conan shrugged and complied. "He's says he's got an update," he elaborated in response to the questioning looks he was receiving.

"Hi, tantei-san, tantei-han!" KID chirped out of the cell phone.

"Is there any particular reason you've called, KID?" Hakuba practically groaned.

"Yes, actually, tantei-san, there _is_ a purpose for my call—you know what, tantei-kun? Why don't you turn off the speaker phone again? Apparently tantei-san has a disappointing lack of interest in what I have to say," KID huffed.

"Oh my God," Hakuba muttered in English, rubbing his temples.

KID laughed over the phone. "Just kidding! Anyway, I stopped by the police station disguised as an officer to see if they had any news, and Nakamori-keibu's daughter was attacked."

"_What?_"

"Oh, so _now_ you care, tantei-san?"

"Ya gonna tell us what happened or not?" Hattori cut in, frustrated.

"Nakamori-keibu's private break room was booby trapped so that when his daughter stepped inside, a sword would come out of the door frame and…you get the picture. Thankfully, the ojou-san's handsome young friend valiantly pulled her to safety," KID assured them proudly, as if he had somehow had a hand in the rescue.

"One Kuroba Kaito, perhaps?" Hakuba guessed, arching an eyebrow.

"As a matter of fact, yes. Did I mention how handsome he is?"

The detectives ignored him, deep in thought. "This guy was able to booby trap the police station right under the noses of every officer in the place," Conan noted. "It would have had to be between the time Nakamori-keibu left to get his daughter and when she tripped it. Ne, KID, you said it was Nakamori-keibu's private break room—does that mean that only he uses it?"

"Yeah."

"That's why the culprit sent the code early—he _wanted_ Nakamori-keibu to find it. That, or he wanted Nakamori-chan to show me the note," Hakuba realized. "Either way, he wanted her in the police station. And he placed the trap in a place in which Nakamori-chan was likely to enter; however, no one else besides her or Nakamori-keibu would have fallen into the trap."

"Which increases the likelihood a' killin' the target as opposed ta any random guy who jus' got in the way," Hattori added. "An' ya know, I jus' thought a' somethin'. If this guy can sneak inta a police station ta kill someone, wouldn't in be jus' as easy ta sneak inta a hospital guarded by only one officer, two max? But he hasn't, not ta kill Kazuha. I think once the initial killin' period passes, the culprit gives up on the targets that aren't detectives. So I think this Nakamori-chan should be safe from now on. Ne, KID, there weren't any other traps in the station, were there?"

"Nope. Nakamori-keibu had every officer there searching the station from top to bottom. Now he's practically tearing his hair out trying to figure out whether the culprit expects him to keep Nakamori-chan there or to take her home." KID chuckled. "Well, I'm hanging up now. Isn't it a bit past your bedtime, tantei-kun?" Conan growled and KID laughed again. "I'll be back to check on you in the morning."

"Wait, you'll _what_?" Conan frowned when he heard the click that signaled the end of the conversation. "There's no dissuading him when he wants something, is there?"

Hakuba ran a hand through his hair. "You have no idea."

xXx

Mouri Kogoro checked the caller ID on his ringing cell phone and groaned. "What does she want?" he grumbled aloud, but at a low enough volume that Ran wouldn't hear. After he had slept in so late the day after the Kansai detective brat had almost gotten killed, Ran had been forcing him to wake up at seven each morning, and not a minute later.

He answered the phone with a grunt; however, he was wide awake and alert only a moment later.

"_What_ did you get?"

xXx

"Ohayo, Meitantei!" Conan awoke with a start when a stream of water smacked him in the face.

He coughed, yanking off his glasses and brushing droplets of fluid away from his eyes. "KID?" he spluttered.

"Bingo!" KID pointed his water gun next at Hattori and shot. The detective's reaction was similar to that of Conan.

"KID! What're ya doin' here?"

"I said I'd be back in the morning. And you needed a wake-up call—it's seven in the morning. According to your own deductions, the time period between each murder is halved, correct? Half of one day is twelve hours, and twelve hours from nine in the evening is nine in the morning."

"How did you know that the time period is halved?" Conan asked. "We never told you."

"I picked it up at the police station." KID slipped his gun into his jacket and pulled out another one. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have another detective to awaken."

"Why'd ya switch guns?" Hattori questioned suspiciously.

KID winked and put a finger to his lips. "It's a secret."

Hattori shrugged. "Good enough fer me."

The thief stepped toward Hakuba, who was curled up in the armchair in which he had been reading the night before, and aimed the gun. "I have to get a bit closer for this; honey doesn't have quite the same consistency as water."

"Honey?" Conan repeated incredulously. KID nodded cheerfully. "KID, I don't—"

"Too late. Don't worry—I won't get it on your book." KID gestured to the Holmes book that lay abandoned on Hakuba's lap as he squeezed the trigger.

"Ah, wait, KID—" Conan began to protest before he noticed that the liquid shooting out of KID's second water gun was completely transparent.

Hakuba woke up gagging. "Ugh, KID! What _is_ that? _Vinegar?_"

Hattori laughed. "Better than honey."

"I don't even want to know, do I?" Hakuba asked Conan, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand as he glared at Hattori.

"It's really not that bad," Conan assured him. "But anyway, KID was right about what he said before—if the culprit sticks to his pattern, he'll target someone else in only two hours. That person is most likely Occhan. And we have to catch the culprit _now_—we have no idea who his primary target is, so we won't be able to protect him or her if the culprit escapes again."

"Actually, I think we do know," Hattori spoke up. "There's only the pawn an' the king left. The king's obviously the primary target, an' the culprit's probably savin' the best fer last, so ta speak. We're pretty sure the king's not Occhan, which means he's the pawn. Now, we've figured out that there's a reason that each detective was chosen fer each specific chess piece—so why would Occhan be a pawn?"

Conan blanched, his eyes widening in horror behind his glasses. "No…"

"You think the culprit knows?" Hakuba asked Hattori, quickly understanding the reason behind Conan's panic.

"I realized earlier that if Kudou Shinichi is a target, then there's no doubt that he knows," Conan mumbled dejectedly. "We just hoped that I wasn't actually on the list. But pawns are made to be used by the other pieces—which is what I do to Occhan on a regular basis. I use him to solve murders. There's no doubt that the culprit knows—and if I'm a target, then so is Ran—most likely. We have to warn her."

"We have ta get ta Occhan first," Hattori pointed out.

"You're right," Conan said as he reached for his phone, which had just begun to ring. "Ah, good timing—it's Occhan." His voice immediately increased its pitch as he pressed the phone against her ear. "_Moshi moshi_, Oji-san! Heiji-niichan was just about to call you!"

"Conan-kun. Put the Osakan brat on," Mouri's gruff voice commanded.

Conan hopped to his feet to deliver the phone to Hattori, though he was slightly tempted to stay put and use his voice-changer bowtie. "Asked for you. He sounded serious."

Hattori nodded as he took the cell phone. "It's me." A few moments of silence before his eyes widened. "Yer kiddin'! Alright, we'll be right over. But, ah, before we go, can ya tell me the code?" Hattori paused, then nodded. "Got it. See ya soon." He snapped the phone shut and returned it to Conan. "He says Kisaki-san received a code only a few minutes ago. She's comin' over ta the detective agency."

"Did Mouri-san tell you the code?" Hakuba asked.

"He said it's 'Foreign Horn'—written in English, a' course. But there was somethin' weird about the 'o' in 'Horn'—he said it was really small, almost like a handakuten***** or somethin'."

"Maybe that's what it is, then," Hakuba suggested. "Maybe we're supposed to translate it to Japanese, given the 'Foreign' part."

"'Foreign' could also suggest that if we translate it into Japanese, we need to use the Katakana****** system," Conan added.

"And if that's the case, 'Horn' turns into this." Hattori scribbled three characters in his notebook: ホーン.

"Oh, I see!" KID stole the pen from Hattori and drew a small circle beside the first character. "Then you put a handakuten next to the first character like that!"

"And this—" Hakuba tapped the new set of characters listed in Hattori's notebook: ポーン. "—when translated into English, means…"

"Pawn," Conan finished. "Well, it's confirmation—Kudou Shinichi is the main target. And the culprit knows exactly where to find him."

xXx

***A handakuten is a little circle (like a degree sign) used in Japanese writing to indicate that a symbol is pronounced a different way; in this case, it's indicating that 'h' be pronounced as 'p', making the word pōn (pawn) instead of hōn (horn).**

****The Katakana system's main function in Japanese language is writing foreign words.**

**It's probably not a very complicated code if you speak Japanese, but I didn't want **_**all**_** the codes to be primarily English-based.**


	9. Pawn Part 2

**Just a warning, I'm not totally pleased with how this chapter turned out. It starts out fine, but then…I got writer's block a few times. I think it's because I watched old, badly-written cartoons while I was writing it…usually I watch the newest DC. Ah, well.**

**Also, I don't own **_**The Pit and the Pendulum**_**.**

xXx

"Is this necessary?" Conan grumbled, glaring at Kaito, who was—at the moment—not disguised as KID, but as someone else entirely.

"Why, of course, tantei-kun!" Kaito chirped in a voice far too chipper for his disguise. "When one needs to blend into a group of detectives, who better to be than one of them? Good thing I had the foresight to bring along my 'Kudou' mask!"

"Eh?" Conan frowned in confusion. "I thought you didn't—"

"What?" Kaito interrupted, watching Hakuba out of the corner of his eye. "Of _course_ I brought the mask! Did I forget to tell you?" He laughed nervously. _That was close_._ It's fine if Kudou knows what KID looks like_—_he's not obsessed with KID, nor does he know Kuroba Kaito_—_but Hakuba CANNOT find out under any circumstances_.

Conan shrugged, apparently deciding to drop the subject. "Still, you couldn't have picked another detective?"

"I _told_ you, I just so happened to only bring this mask. Besides, all other detectives are either dead or out of the country anyway, so there's really no one left but Kudou Shinichi."

"Fine, but you're waiting outside in a bush or something," Conan commanded. "I don't want you within one hundred feet of Ran after the airship incident."

Kaito chuckled. Hakuba and Hattori shared bemused looks. "Oi, Kudou, are ya talkin' 'bout the reason this guy escaped the airship? Which, I might add, ya refused ta tell me."

"And I never will. I really doubt that's something Ran would want shared."

"She told Kazuha!" Hattori protested.

"Then why don't you ask _her_?"

"She says it's a secret!"

"…And that makes you think that _I'll_ tell you?"

"Well, ya seem ta be used ta dealin' with secrets."

Conan glared up at the taller detective. "That's low."

"Perfect size fer ya, then."

"As amusing as this conversation is," Hakuba cut in, "we're almost at Mouri-san's place." The group had decided upon walking from the Kudou mansion to the detective agency, given that Hattori's motorcycle could sit no more than two, and KID could no longer use his hang glider in public now that the sun had risen.

Conan glanced around the street as they approached the building. "How about you hide behind that parked car right there?" he suggested to Kaito, gesturing toward a silver Mercedes. "Or maybe—" He froze, widened eyes never leaving the car across the street.

"Kudou? What's—?" Hattori's gaze followed Conan's, and he immediately cut off as well. "No way…"

"What is it?" Hakuba questioned, alarmed.

At the same time, Kaito asked, "Is something wrong?" The two stared at the car across the street that had apparently captivated the other detectives' attention. It was a simple black car—_A Porsche_, Kaito decided.

Conan immediately bounded across the street without answering, Hattori right on his heels.

"Hey, wait!" Kaito shouted.

"Hide, KID!" Hattori called over his shoulder. "Doesn' matter where, jus' _do it_!"

Hakuba's eyes lit up in realization. "That car…" He grabbed Kaito by the arm and dragged him into doorway below the detective agency. "Come on, hurry!"

"Wait, what's going on?" Kaito half-demanded, half-whined once Hakuba had shut the door behind them.

"You don't know how Kudou became…you know…_small_, do you?" Hakuba whispered, glancing around to ensure that they were alone. "He witnessed an illegal transaction when he was on a date; the people involved spotted him and slipped him an experimental poison that ended up shrinking him. They're part of an organization which he refers to as 'the Black Organization,' and if they find out he's alive, they'll kill him and everyone around him. I can only assume that Kudou and Hattori recognized that car as belonging to a member of said organization, and are currently checking the license plate to confirm. At any rate, you need to change your disguise."

Kaito opened his mouth to protest when he heard a familiar voice behind him.

"Shinichi?" He wheeled around to see none other than Mouri Ran standing at the top of the staircase leading up to the detective agency.

…_How long have they been standing there?_

xXx

"Is it them?" Hattori asked anxiously.

Conan shook his head, letting out the breath he had been holding since he had spotted the black Porsche. "The license plate is different—it's not Gin's car."

Hattori shoved his hands into his pockets and began to return to the other side of the street. "I guess we should probably tell Hakuba an' KID that there's nothin' ta worry about."

Conan nodded as he followed the other detective. "Where did they hide?"

"I think they ducked inta the detective agency."

"Not exactly the best place to hide," Conan observed. "I can't think of a single reason that Gin would be parked here other than to 'visit' Occhan. Of course, that's just my reasoning—neither of them is familiar enough with Gin or the tenants on this street to come to that conclusion. On the other hand, Ran is in there, and I specifically told KID to stay away from her."

"Speakin' a which—" Hattori began innocently.

"I'm not telling you," Conan deadpanned as Hattori pulled open the door to the detective agency. "Ask Ran if you really want to know, but—" For the second time in the last five minutes, his words were ripped right out of his mouth by the scene before them.

"Hi, Conan-kun." KID waved meekly. "Long time no see."

"Conan-kun, Shinichi's back!" Ran called as she rushed down the stairs. "And he's with…Hakuba-san, was it?" She turned to Hakuba.

"Yeah." Hakuba nodded. "Kudou-kun heard about these detectives being targeted on the news. He knew from that that Hattori-kun had already been targeted, so he took a break in his big case to make sure I, the only other high-school detective he knows, was aware that I may be a target. At that time, Hattori-kun and Conan-kun also arrived to give me the same information. Right?" He seemed to be directed the question at KID—i.e. "Shinichi"—but he continuously stole glances at Conan as he said it. Both of them nodded their approval of the fib.

Ran nodded and refocused her attention on "Shinichi": "Shinichi, where have you been? Are you done with your case?"

"Uh…not really…" KID stammered. "But there was a sort of lull in the case, and I had some free time, so I decided to stop by and see what these serial murders were about."

"It's actually a good thing Shinichi-niichan is here, Ran-neechan!" Conan piped up. "He can protect us!"

"Protect _us_?" Ran repeated. "You mean Otou-san, right? And Oka-san?"

Conan shook his head. "Heiji-niichan said that I might be a target because of all the publicity I get from Kaitou KID heists. And he also thinks that you are, too."

"Why?" Ran blinked in confusion, worry evident in her gaze.

"Yer the kid's Neechan. Yer like an older sister ta him," Hattori explained quickly. "I'd say he cares about ya the most."

"Really?" Ran seemed mildly surprised.

"Besides, we profiled the killer, an' we think he'll be hesitant ta kill children if it can be helped," Hattori lied to strengthen his relatively weak assertion. "That leaves ya an' Occhan, who's already a target—so that leaves jus' ya."

"I see." Worry won out over the confusion as the primary emotion displayed on Ran's face; however, she quickly masked it with optimism as she bent down to talk to Conan. "Don't worry, Conan-kun. We'll be fine. And if the culprit _does_ try anything…" Ran's foot slammed into the wall, missing KID by inches. The thief winched, eying the new cracks in the cement with apprehension. _The aiming of that kick probably wasn't a coincidence_, Conan realized guiltily. "…I'll make him regret it." She turned her head to focus her gaze on KID and beamed innocently. "Ne, Shinichi?"

_No, definitely NOT a coincidence_. "And Shinichi-niichan can use his soccer!" Conan added. "Ne, Shinichi-niichan?" He hoped that KID had managed to intercept the message implied in his cold tone: _I'm still not pleased with your choice of disguise_.

KID's eyes flicked between Conan and Ran, both of whom were looking to him expectantly—and in a strangely frightening manner. "Y-Yeah…right."

"So…anyway…" Hattori spoke up, changing the subject. "Where's Occhan?"

Ran bit her lip as he turned to Hattori. "He left to meet up with Oka-san; he didn't want her leaving work alone."

"Ahou!" Hattori instinctively shouted.

"And you let _him_ go alone?" KID said incredulously.

Ran turned a menacing glare on him, and Conan could practically read her mind: _You have no excuse to scold __me__ for __anything__, Mr. Leave-And-Rarely-Come-Back Deduction Otaku_. And he understood, really he did, but he was beginning to pity the unfortunate thief taking the heat in his stead. Of course, speaking of which, there was still the issue of helping "Shinichi" slip away when all this was over…._Wait_.

Conan glanced at Hattori and Hakuba; the former was busy harshly interrogating Ran (who was defending herself and her father so passionately that Conan felt no need to step in on their behalf), while the latter was standing in place silently, watching the spectacle attentively.

"Hakuba," Conan whispered, tugging at the detective's sleeve. Hakuba crouched down so that he was level with the boy. "If the culprit knows about me, and he comes to attack Occhan…what will he think when he sees KID?"

"Well, if his personality isn't as obsessive as we think it is, he may just accept that he was wrong and attack KID…" Hakuba guessed. "On the other hand, he _does_ know that KID's working with us, so it may not change a thing."

Conan nodded. "That's what I thought." He increased his volume to speak over Hattori— who was still questioning Ran as to exactly _what_ compelled her to allow her father outside—and Ran—who was arguing that nothing should happen for another hour and thirty minutes. "_Ne, Heiji-niichan!_" When Hattori turned his gaze on Conan, mildly surprised at the interruption, he continued, "If you're so worried about Oji-san, maybe we should call him."

Ran was already shaking her head. "He can't find his charger, and his phone is dead."

"Come to think of it, Not-Satou-keiji said the same thing," KID realized.

"But Occhan called usin' his cell phone between that time an' now, remember?" Hattori reminded them. "How'd he have his phone then?"

"He told me it was important that he get his phone charged so he could check his contacts, so I showed him how to charge it long enough so he could use it for five minutes," Ran explained. "I told him to rub the cell phone battery against his cotton shirt, so that it would temporarily increase the efficiency. Remember when you taught me how to do that, Shinichi?" Though it was KID at whom she smiled, Conan nodded.

It had only been two years ago, their last year of middle school. Both Ran's karate and Shinichi's soccer practices had run late one day, and Ran desperately needed to call her father to tell him that she couldn't make dinner; however, her phone had died. By the time she realized this, she and Shinichi (who didn't have a phone on hand) had already begun their trip home….

"_Oh, no!" Ran moaned as she desperately poked at her phone's power button. "It's dead!"_

"_That's not much of a problem," Shinichi said lazily, his arms hooked behind his head._

"_I have to call Otou-san and tell him I'll be home late and that he needs to start preparing dinner without me!" Ran complained angrily. "Otherwise we won't be able to eat on time!" She paused as something occurred to her. "Ah! You wouldn't happen to have your phone, would you?"_

"_No. But it's still not a problem."_

_Ran frowned. "Well, Mr. Detective, I guess in the grand scheme of things it's not, but it's a problem to __me__, and_—_"_

"_No, no!" Shinichi unhooked his arms and put his palms up defensively. "I just meant it's an easy problem to solve."_

"_Eh?" Ran blinked, pouting slightly in puzzlement. "How's that?"_

"_Are you wearing any cotton?"_

"_Uh_…_" Ran checked her school uniform quickly. "No, I don't think so_…._Ah, wait!" She bent down and tugged at her knee-high navy socks. "I think these are! But why—?"_

"_Phone," Shinichi interrupted, holding out his hand expectantly. Unsure, Ran placed it on his palm. He slid off the back and removed the battery._

"_Wait, what are you—?"_

"_Don't worry, I won't break it," Shinichi assured her. "Take off your sock."_

"_What?__ Shinichi, I'm not doing that in the middle of the street!" Ran protested, looking at the dirt-covered ground in disgust._

_Shinichi shrugged and bent down beside her leg. "Keep it on then." With the battery cupped in his hand, he stretched out the edge of her sock and began to rub the battery against the cloth vigorously._

"_W-Wait!" Shinichi failed to notice the blush slowly painting Ran's cheeks a light pink._

_A few minutes later, Shinichi stood up and replaced the battery. "That should do it." Turning on the phone, he handed it back to Ran._

"Well, I guess we'll jus' have ta go an' find him," Hattori's strongly accented voice smashed through Conan's reverie.

"Well, Otou-san said he was taking a taxi, so he should be there by now." Ran held up her wrist to check her watch. "We can just call Oka-san and tell her that they need to stay there." Ran pulled out her cell phone and began to dial her mother's number.

She put the phone to her ear, but removed it a few moments later, her eyebrows furrowed in concern. "No answer…" she murmured slowly, as if in shock. "She always answers."

"Maybe Mouri-san already got to her," Hakuba suggested softly. Even as he said it, Conan could tell that Hakuba didn't really believe it—and judging from everyone else's expressions, they didn't either.

xXx

"Is that a phone?" Kaito wondered as a ringing sound filtered down the stairs from the Mouri's office. Ran, having only just put her phone back in her pocket, raced up the stairs; the rest followed immediately.

She reached the phone on her father's desk and yanked it from the receiver. Her voice shook as she answered, "_Moshi moshi_?" Ran paused, listening for the response; her face paled and she handed the phone to Kaito, speaking with no attempt at hiding her fear. "I-It's for you, Shinichi."

Kaito took the phone, brought it to his ear, and cleared his throat before speaking in Kudou's serious tone. "This is Kudou."

It was a raspy, electronically-manipulated voice that responded—the same as that on the tape recorder, as Kaito would later learn. "Hello, KID."

Kaito froze. _He __does__ know about Kudou_. _How else would he know that I was KID, unless he was sure that Kudou was incapable of answering the phone?_ He glanced at the kid, who was staring at him with intent concentration.

It suddenly occurred to Kaito that the culprit must be watching them, since he knew not only that Conan was capable of imitating Shinichi's voice, but also seemed to know that the person answering the phone _wasn't_ Conan. That, or he knew that Ran was unaware of Conan's situation, and thus there was no way Conan could answer the phone. The more Kaito thought about it, the more likely it seemed that it was the latter situation.

"How—?" Kaito began, but the rest stuck in his throat. If what the culprit claimed to know got out to the people who shrunk Kudou, and if what Hakuba had told him was accurate, every single person standing around him would die. Including himself, assuming the Organization could figure out that Kaitou KID was aware of Conan's real identity.

"—did I know?" The culprit finished when Kaito didn't continue. "Let's just say I did my research. But I digress. I called because I have a message for my White King: I must admit, I am quite the unconventional chess player. Most players would sacrifice their own pawns to capture an opponent's more powerful piece; I, on the other hand, would rather play it safer. Which is why I find it more practical to sacrifice not my own pawns, but those of the opponent.

"I am, however, a good sport; I will deliver one hint to my opposing King. When you find the root from which the detective genre developed, you shall find your pawns."

"Oi!" Kaito protested when he heard the culprit hang up. He turned to the others and relayed what had been said—except, of course, for the bits involving the culprit's knowledge of Kudou's identity.

"So what is it, Shinichi?" Ran asked hopefully. "What's the root of the detective genre?"

"Uh…that's…"

"Edgar Allan Poe," Conan answered quickly. "Shinichi-niichan told me before, ne?" He beamed at Kaito, who nodded in relief. _What do I know about detectives? Except, of course, for the random trivia that Hakuba spews every other day about Holmes_….

As if on cue, Hakuba also nodded and added, "Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was the one who made the claim that Poe's detective stories were the root."

_Wow. Barely been twelve hours since the last Holmes fact. I think that may be a record for him_, Kaito thought wryly, carefully disguising his minor annoyance as appreciative interest—which, if Conan's identical expression was any indicator, is how Kudou would have responded.

"But how's that lead us ta Occhan? An' why'd the culprit switch from codes ta trivia?" Hattori said in a way that almost seemed as if he were challenging the two Holmes otaku. Apparently he was getting fed up with the Sherlockian references as much as Kaito was.

Conan narrowed his eyes in concentration. "I'm not sure—"

"I've got it!" Ran exclaimed, much to the surprise of the four boys. They all turned to her in mild astonishment. "There's a museum that's on the way from here to Oka-san's law firm. This week only, they're having a special exhibit on famous horror writers of the nineteenth century from all over the world!"

"And if you were to choose a horror writer of that time period from _America_, Poe would be the most obvious choice," Hakuba reasoned. "Among his detective stories, he wrote many classic horror stories and poems, including _The Raven_,_ The Tell-Tale Heart_,_ The Pit and the Pendulum_,_ The Cask of_—"

"Yeah, yeah, yer well-read in American literature, we get it," Hattori interrupted sarcastically. Kaito was only glad that _somebody_ did before he was forced to break character and do it himself—for the sanity of not only himself, but everyone within earshot. "Can we _please_ go ta the museum now?"

xXx

Mouri Kogoro cracked open his eyelids; however, he couldn't see much of a difference between having his eyes open and having them closed. There was a dim light emanating from somewhere overhead, and Kogoro blinked a few times at an attempt to get his eyes adjusted. When he tried to rub them to speed up the process, he realized that his arms were pinned to his sides by some sort of leather belt.

"_What_—?" He struggled against the binds futilely. _How did I even __get__ here?_ The last thing he remembered was dashing out of the house to get to Eri, hailing a taxi…he had made it about halfway to her firm, he recalled, but after that…nothing. His last memory was staring out the window of the taxi while it was stalled at a red light. _Maybe there was something in that taxi, some kind of knock-out gas_…_?_

By that time, Kogoro's eyes had adjusted, and he could just barely make out something hanging above him—it was a wonder he hadn't spotted it before, considering it was swinging from side to side directly above him. Besides that, every time the thing swung up into a certain angle, light would glint off the bladed metal.

_Wait, __bladed__?_ Kogoro squinted desperately at the dark, and sure enough, the thing was actually a long pole hanging from the ceiling—with a scythe hanging off of it. To make matters worse, he was fairly certain that the scythe was closer to his midsection than it had been five minutes ago.

_This situation seems oddly familiar_, Kogoro realized, attempting not to panic. _Have I read about this somewhere? Whatever, it doesn't matter—what __does__ matter is how I'm gonna get the hell out of here_. He cursed aloud.

"Anata? Is that you?" The familiar female voice shook slightly.

"_Eri?_" Kogoro gasped incredulously. _How did __she__ get here too? Unless_….He cursed again. If both of them were here, together, then it had to be the serial killer's doing—and of course, that meant that Eri was in some kind of danger herself, probably something closely related to his own predicament. Or at least some trap that would be just as difficult to escape as his apparently was. "Where are you?"

"I don't know," his ex-wife's disembodied voice admitted. "I'm hanging by a rope over some empty space. I kicked one of my shoes off to judge how far down it was. After about five seconds I heard it smack against something solid."

"That's about one hundred and twenty meters," Kogoro calculated grimly.

"I know." Her voice was just as grim, if not more so. "Where are you?"

"Strapped to the ground with a blade hanging above me," he said nonchalantly. "You must be over some kind of hole in the ground."

"Like…a pit?"

Kogoro blinked. "I…guess you could phrase it that way."

"Tell me, anata, the blade hanging above you…is it swinging back and forth? Like a pendulum?"

"How did you know?"

"This situation reminds me of a story I once read—_The Pit and the Pendulum_—and a museum near my firm is having a special exhibit this week—which they advertised would include the author of that story. It's possible…." Eri trailed off. "It's the serial killer, isn't it?"

Kogoro hesitated. "…Probably."

She was silent. She didn't speak again until a few moments later. "Wait, there's something here…."

"What is it?"

"I'm not sure, but I can feel it with my foot. I think it's hanging off the edge. It feels like…metal."

xXx

Conan wasn't positive that he was entirely fine with Ran tagging along. On one hand, he wanted to keep her out of danger. On the other hand…he wanted to keep her out of danger. Leaving her at home would save her if the culprit happened to be waiting for them at the museum, but separating was how Mouri and Kisaki had apparently been kidnapped.

Besides that, Ran was the only one who knew where this museum was. Not that they couldn't find their own way there, but…Ran had also insisted upon coming. And they weren't about to argue when it would be just as dangerous for her to stay at home (and when she could simply knock them all out with her karate and go by herself if she so desired).

They quickly discovered that the museum was significantly closer to Kisaki's law firm than Mouri's detective agency. And to make matters worse, it didn't open until noon.

"This doesn't eliminate it as a possibility," KID pointed out as Hattori pressed his face against the dark front windows to peer inside.

"Yes, but I'm sure the rest of us would rather avoid breaking the law if we can help it," Hakuba groaned.

"I think breaking and entering can be excused if the reason is important enough," KID snapped. Immediately after speaking, he snuck a nervous glance at Ran, then at Conan, as if to say, _Sorry, was that too out of character for you?_

Conan shrugged; it was a little off, but Ran wouldn't think too much of it. He made a mental note to remember to bring Hakuba to the next KID heist—it might prevent the thief from disguising as Shinichi again.

Hattori drew back from the window and tried the doorknob. "Locked. A' course. Well, at least there's no one inside…." The door had a window built into the top half of the door, and Hattori decided to take full advantage of this.

He was preparing to shove his elbow through the corner of the window when KID grabbed his arm. "Whoa, hold it, Hot-Blooded-kun!"

Hattori growled. "_What?_"

"I'll pick the lock." KID turned to Ran. "Do you have a bobby pin?" Conan had no doubt that KID had the proper tools on hand himself, but he had probably realized that Kudou Shinichi would not have.

Nevertheless, Ran was surprised. "I didn't know you could do that," she said as she handed over a pin.

"You never know when these skills come in handy." KID shrugged and began to wiggle the bobby pin around in the doorknob, keeping his ear pressed against the door. "It pertains to my craft. Like Holmes. He knew everything about everything relating to being a detective, but he knew absolutely nothing else—he didn't even know the earth revolved around the sun!" As he spoke, his tone grew steadily more exuberant, though Conan could tell he was concentrating more on the lock than on what he was saying.

_Nice touch_, Conan thought, grinning approvingly. He also noticed that Hakuba appeared absolutely flabbergasted. _Guess he didn't realize that KID reads Holmes_._ Not religiously, obviously, but even I'm a bit surprised he actually __has_. (Little did Conan know, Hakuba's actual reason behind his shock was more in the vein of "He was actually _listening_ when I was going on about Holmes?")

"I'm in!" KID announced triumphantly. He handed the bobby pin back to Ran. "Thanks, Ran."

Hattori led the way into the unlit building, sprinting toward the back of the museum as he called over his shoulder, "They won' be anywhere where they could be seen easily if the manager came in early 'cause he fergot his wallet or somethin'. So they're probably in the back somewhere."

"Hattori-kun's right," Hakuba agreed. "I wonder if this place has a back room near the Poe portion of the exhibit that we could check."

Conan squinted up at a poster of their temporary exhibit hanging off of a wall. "This poster says that the exhibit, featuring Poe among others, is on the second floor."

Ran was the first to find the "Poe" section, but there wasn't any storage rooms nearby. KID, however, seemed to be strangely fascinated with one aspect of the exhibit. As he knelt in front of the glass viewing window, reading the plaque below it, Conan tugged on his sleeve.

"Shinichi-niichan, we're looking somewhere else. There's nothing here."

KID's eyes left the plaque and he focused instead on the darkness inside the viewing window. "Are you sure? I mean, what's back there?"

Conan peered past his own reflection; a conveniently-located skylight had been placed directly above this particular exhibit, flooding the hallway with sunlight. "That's a replica from Edgar Allan Poe's short story, _The Pit and the Pendulum_. It's dark in there, but you can clearly see a bladed pendulum swinging back and forth. That's actually about all you can make out."

"Yeah, I got that from reading the plaque and having the ability to see," KID grumbled. "I mean, could the culprit have hidden them in there?"

"Theoretically." Conan frowned. "But I was under the impression that they would be in a much more obvious place."

"That's what I thought, too," KID agreed. "But…"

"Oi, Kudou!" Hattori's voice interrupted. "Uh, I mean, C—ah, no, _Kudou_! There's more Poe stuff down this hall!"

"Okay!" KID called, and he and Conan sprinted to meet them.

xXx

**Gasp! (If you haven't figured it out already, they **_**did**_** overlook the real hiding place.)**

**Okay, hint time! (As to the culprit, that is, because I probably won't finish this before July). So, I'm going to give a hint similar to the one that Gosho Aoyama gave in regards to Anokata:**

**The culprit has at **_**least**_** been mentioned in the DC/MK (canon/movie/OVA) universe at one point.**

**In other words, he/she is not an OC.**


	10. Pawn Part 3

**Sorry if Mouri and Kisaki are OOC (and were in the last chapter). I must admit that I hate writing them…but it was kind of unavoidable. And sorry about the chapter being so short...I wanted to end on a semi-cliffhanger (it's _semi _because you may or may not figure it out).**

xXx

"Wait!" Conan skidded to a stop, panic evident in his tone.

"What is it?" Kaito wheeled around to see what revelation the boy had obviously had. "Did you figure something out?"

"Why was the pendulum moving?" Conan mumbled, almost to himself.

"Huh?" Kaito blinked a few times.

"Back there, the pendulum! It shouldn't have been moving!"

Kaito gaped at him. "You're _right_! How did we overlook that? There no way it should be moving if the museum hasn't opened yet!"

"Ran-neechan, Heiji-niichan, Hakuba-niichan!" Conan shouted. "We know where they are!" They dashed back to the window, the other three following closely.

"They're through here!" Kaito gestured wildly toward the viewing window and reached for his card gun on impulse…before he realized that Kudou Shinichi didn't own a card gun. _Screw the disguise, they're in troub _—

"HII…" Kaito backpedaled speedily away from the window when he spotted Ran positioning herself for attack, glaring daggers at her target: the window. She lifted her leg and sent it crashing into the window with a powerful shout. "…_AH!_"

The window shattered as not only Ran's leg but her whole body crashed into the room—as her foot cracked the window, she had leaned into it and lost her balance, having overestimated the strength of the window.

"Ran!" Conan lunged for her and hooked the edge of her shirt in his hand, preventing her from falling too far.

"Ran?" Two voices gasped within the darkness, which had been lightened a bit by the light spilling in from the now-absent window.

"Otou-san? Oka-san?" Ran shouted desperately.

Kaito, Hattori, and Hakuba hurtled over the window frame to get a better look; they could now make out that Mouri was strapped to the floor beneath the swinging pendulum, which was apparently connected at the top to a chain—from which dangled Kisaki over some kind of pit. To prevent the blade from slicing clean through the chain which bound Kisaki, the chain was melded to the ceiling for a few feet before it dangled down again—like a giant, floating arch, with one side was weighted by a swinging deadly weapon, the other side by a female lawyer. Exactly in the middle of the top of the arch was a large metal box, through which the chain passed. After watching the box and the ends of the arch for a few moments, Kaito realized that the box was feeding the chain through at a constant rate, slowly lowering the blade, thus simultaneously lifting Kisaki out of the pit, little by little.

Speaking of the pit, a thick wooden board jutted out into the pit like a diving board. One side was nailed firmly into the ground, the other rested on nothing but air—but carried a large weight, like those seen in cartoons. There was even a small handle at the top of the weight.

_The weight_…Kaito's eyes widened. _Kisaki-san's supposed to put her foot through the handle_—_the extra weight could break that machine near the top, cause it to malfunction_._ The chain will snap free, and the pendulum will stop descending, but Kisaki-san will_….Kaito's gaze focused on the pit. _The culprit wanted them to choose which one of them would live and which one would die_._ And that means that he didn't expect us to make it here_ _quickly enough to rescue them both_. _Unless_….

By that time, Conan, Ran, and Hattori had hastened to the captives in order to free them, questioning them urgently about their predicament, while Hakuba was in the process of calling the police. Kaito stole Hakuba's watch from his pocket and checked it, ignoring the detective's protesting growl. "Five minutes until nine…" he muttered aloud—the pendulum was only inches from Mouri's chest.

"Come on." Hakuba snapped the phone shut and grabbed Kaito's wrist and pulled him forward. "We need to help, and besides, it'll look suspicious if Kudou's just standing here doing nothing. The police are on their way; fortunately, one of the officers was nearby at the moment."

"But something's not right!" Kaito ripped his wrist out of Hakuba's grip and tossed him his watch.

"What do you mean?" Hakuba frowned as he caught the watch easily, his eyes drifting over to the captives. Conan and Hattori were attempting to unbind Mouri (while avoiding getting sliced to pieces themselves), while Ran was reaching for her mother's chains to drag her to safety.

"I don't know," Kaito admitted. "But why would he set up a one-or-the-other type of situation? Before, he at least _tried_ to kill both targets."

"That did occur to me, but I wouldn't say that's the primary concern at this point—"

"What if he doesn't care about them?" Kaito interrupted. "What if he just cares about Kudou and Mouri-chan?"

"You don't think it's booby-trapped!" Hakuba said in alarm, catching on quicker than Kaito had expected. "But that pendulum is minutes away from reaching Mouri-san—if they get out of the way, he'll die!"

"It's likely that the binds themselves are what's booby-trapped, so as soon as they're released…."

"Stop!" Hakuba shouted to the others as Kaito trailed off. "The binds are probably booby-trapped!"

"Eh?" Ran paused in reassuring her mother and turned her head, her fingers wrapped around Kisaki's binds securely. Her hands twitched, and Kisaki moved just another inch toward her—but that was enough to set off the trap. A smaller pendulum (which no one had noticed before, given that it had been set flat against the ceiling), which was apparently attached to the chain from which Kisaki dangled, swung down toward Ran's head.

Having heard the noise from above, Ran ducked just it time, letting go of Kisaki, who swung away from her daughter.

"Ran!" Conan and Mouri screamed, the former leaping up to check on her.

Hattori pushed him back down. "I'll get her, yer freein' Occhan."

"Wait, Hattori!" Kaito protested as he and Hakuba started to run to Ran and Kisaki. "Conan-kun's the target of the trap! We'll get Ran, _you_ need to help—!"

Conan had suddenly released the strap binding Mouri, and a pendulum identical to the one that had been aimed at Ran soared down to earth—and sliced through the air over Conan's head without him even needing to duck, though he did flinch instinctively. Both he and Mouri scrambled out of the way of the scythes that had been respectively aimed at each of them.

Meanwhile, Kaito was focused on the padlock that held together Kisaki's chains, while Hakuba held her away from the pit and Hattori helped Ran to her feet. "You two alright?" Kaito called absentmindedly.

"Fine!" Conan shouted.

"What about Eri and Ran?" Mouri panted.

"Workin' on it!" Hattori and Ran joined Kaito and Hakuba. "Anythin' we can do?"

"In just a second, I'll need you to get the chains off while holding Kisaki-san away from the pit," Kaito grunted, wiggling his lock pick into just the right place for the lock to snap open. "Got it!" He pulled off the padlock and began to undo the chains, assisted by Hattori; Hakuba and Ran guided Kisaki to solid earth while the other two worked. By the time they finally got Kisaki to safety, Mouri and Conan had returned to their side.

"Eri!" Mouri said in relief, and opened his mouth to say more, when a heavyset police officer interrupted by stepping onto the scene, becoming framed by the broken window.

"Megure-keibu!"

Oh, _now_ Kaito recognized the inspector. In his defense, the man wasn't often at KID heists—the presence of an international thief seemed to counteract Conan's unnatural attraction to dead bodies…most of the time, anyway.

"Mouri-san!" Another officer appeared behind Megure-keibu—Kaito recognized him as the officer whose face he had temporarily borrowed the night before. _Note to self_:_ the new knockout gas is not as long-lasting as I thought_—_I was expecting a good fifteen hours, and I'd say he's been awake at least two_."What _happened_?"

"Why don' we tell ya that at the station when ya get our statements?" Hattori suggested. "It's kinda a long story. An' even we—" He gestured to himself, Kaito, Conan, Hakuba, and Ran. "—haven't heard Occhan's side a' it."

"Well, are you all alright?" Megure-keibu asked weakly.

"I believe so." Hakuba turned to Ran's parents. "Mouri-san? Kisaki-san?" They both nodded shakily.

"Wait, Kudou-kun?" Megure-keibu exclaimed suddenly, apparently just recognizing Kaito. "I didn't know you were around!"

"I was, um, just stopping by, you know?" Kaito began scratching the back of his head, slightly taken aback. "Because of the serial killer; I wanted to check it out."

"Well, let's get you all to the station." Shiratori-keibu sighed. "It's a good thing we have two patrol cars—"

"I wanna ride with Shinichi-niichan!" Conan interrupted in a very bratty (and annoyingly high-pitched) manner, latching onto Kaito's hand. He paused before using his other hand to grab Hattori's and adding, "And Heiji-niichan!"

"O…Okay," Kaito agreed, puzzled. Hattori looked just as confused as Kaito felt.

Ran frowned in disappointment, but quickly turned to her parents, linking her arms in one of each of theirs and pulling them together. "Guess I'll just ride with Otou-san and Oka-san, then!"

Kaito raised an eyebrow at Conan. So _that_ was his plan—_He really doesn't want me and Mouri-chan together without him present, does he?_ There was no way Ran would tell Conan that he couldn't ride with his "niichan" because _she_ wanted to, but she would also feel the need to ride with her parents. Sure, if Conan sat on Ran's lap, they could fit in a patrol car with Kaito and Ran's parents—but that was why Conan must have insisted on riding with Hattori as well.

_Clever brat_, Kaito thought, smirking at Conan, while Hakuba stated his intention to ride with the other detectives.

xXx

"There's something bothering me," Conan whispered to Heiji and KID. The three of them were sitting in fold-out chairs in the police station, waiting to give their statements. Kisaki and Ran had already done so and left with Satou-keiji (who they made sure was indeed Satou-keiji), headed for a safe-house, having informed them that Ran could be in danger.

Heiji tore his eyes away from the blank wall of the police station to meet Conan's. "Huh?" KID also turned to listen to the boy sandwiched between them. Hakuba, meanwhile, continued his animated conversation at Shiratori-keibu's desk. _They're gettin' along well_, Heiji thought amusedly.

"That blade missed me," Conan mumbled, his hand on his chin in concentration.

"Oh, really?" KID grinned at his own sarcasm. "I was under the impression that I was talking to a ghost."

"I should've at least had to duck," Conan continued. "If either of you had been kneeling there, you would be in body bags right now—unless, of course, you had dodged."

KID grimaced. "Lovely image."

Heiji ignored KID, mouth dropping open as he began to understand. "Yer sayin' that the culprit didn't expect ya ta be so short."

"Or he didn't expect me to be the one rescuing Occhan. But who else would be?" Conan wondered.

"Maybe he figured that we'd want to keep you and Mouri-chan safe, so maybe two of us would have gone instead," KID suggested.

"Have ya not _met_ Neechan? There's no way she woulda jus' stood by an' let that happen without helpin'." Heiji shrugged. "Guess the culprit doesn' know her very well. Or he thought we'd have more control over ya. After all, yer small enough fer us ta physically restrain ya."

KID nodded. "Yeah, if we tried to restrain your girlfriend…well, we all know it wouldn't end well. Did you _see_ her smash that window to _pieces_? That plastic had to be _at least_ half an inch thick!"

Conan waved a hand dismissively, his other hand still cupping his chin. "He probably did think you would keep me away. But…"

"Still got a bad feelin'?" Heiji guessed. Conan nodded. "Yeah, well…" Heiji pulled out his cell phone and waved his omamori cheekily. "Ya can borrow this if ya ever feel like yer gonna be in danger. So don' worry. It _has_ saved yer life once, ya know."

"_That?_" At that point, Hakuba (having ended his discussion with Shiratori-keibu) approached the trio, staring at the omamori skeptically. "It looks like a bag of cloth."

"Oh, it is. Don't you know what an omamori is, Hakuba-kun?" KID asked cheerily.

"Ahou!" Heiji shouted, directing the expletive at both Hakuba and KID. "_Cloth_ can't protect anyone! It's what's inside a' it: a handcuff link. When this guy here got stabbed by a serial killer, the blade jus' so happened ta get caught on the link—he had it 'round his neck at the time."

Conan nodded, grinning; Heiji thought that he rolled his eyes too, but he chose to ignore the brat.

"Why do you wear _handcuffs_ around your neck?" Hakuba asked incredulously.

"_Link_, ahou. A handcuff_ link_. An' it's none a' yer business why I wear it."

"Too bad Kazuha-neechan's not here," Conan chirped loudly. "I bet she'd tell them!"

"Might that, by chance, be the ojou-san who was targeted for you?" KID cocked an eyebrow, smirking. "That 'Kazuha' person."

Heiji flushed, thankful that his dark skin tone did a splendid job of concealing his light blush. "Yeah, actually. She's been my friend since we were kids."

"Ah, so like Kudou-kun here," KID whispered cheerfully, evidently keeping in mind that they were sitting in the middle of a semi-crowded police station. He quickly reached over and ruffled Conan's hair, and Heiji noted with amusement that the latter wasted no time in assuming his "_oi, oi_" face and swatting at KID's hand.

"Baro," Conan muttered, though he didn't deny anything.

xXx

"Alright, now that we've got all your statements, you guys should probably head to the safe-house with Kisaki-san and Ran-san," Takagi-keiji suggested.

"Yer probably right," Hattori admitted, shrugging. "But…"

Takagi-keiji sighed resignedly, obviously predicting what was coming, and knowing full well that he was next to powerless to stop the teenagers.

"…I don't think we can in good conscience do that," Hakuba finished for Hattori.

"And something tells me that we don't be able to stop Conan-kun here from tagging along." KID added, patting Conan on head.

_Again with the head-touching?_ Conan shot KID a subtle "watch-yourself" look. _He's really starting to stress the boundary between in-character and out_….

Takagi-keiji glanced doubtfully between the four boys before sending a nervous glance over his shoulder at Megure-keibu. "I—I just don't think I'm supposed to let you guys go…."

"But we hafta do more investigatin'!" Hattori protested loudly enough to cause the inspector glance in their direction. "We're _this_ close ta catchin' the guy!"

_Not really_, Conan mentally corrected, watching Megure-keibu approaching them. _But it seems that your outburst had the desired effect_.

"Is there a problem, Takagi-kun?" Megure-keibu asked gruffly.

"Yeah." Hattori stepped forward, interrupting Takagi-keiji before he could even open his mouth. "We wanna go investigate, an' all Takagi-keiji's concerned about is keepin' us _safe_." He said the last word scornfully, as if the very thought of—heaven forbid—_safety_ disgusted him. Conan decided that Hattori's attempt at putting Takagi-keiji in a good light while simultaneously getting what he wanted was being laid on a little thick.

"We can handle ourselves!" Hattori continued to appeal to Megure-keibu. "Ya've seen Kudou here take out culprits with his soccer ball—"

"I've heard it been described as 'hellish'," KID interjected, staring pointedly at Conan.

Hattori, surprisingly, ignored him. "—it's pretty common knowledge that I'm an amazin' kendo champion, an' Hakuba…um…well, _do_ ya do anythin' remotely helpful?"

"As a matter of fact, I'm—" Hakuba began in an insulted tone before Hattori cut him off.

"Never mind—in any case, as I said, we can handle ourselves." Hattori grinned winningly at Megure-keibu, leaving Hakuba to silently fume. "Whaddaya say? Let us go? We'll make sure Ku-K-Conan-kun here doesn' get inta any trouble!"

Megure-keibu frowned doubtfully.

xXx

"Well, that worked out well," Kaito said cheerfully as the four departed from the police station. "Good work, tantei-han!"

"I must admit that KID is right," Hakuba agreed. "Although for future reference, I am skilled in judo and fencing."

"Ah, so like Holmes." Conan nodded in understanding. "Except he knew baritsu—not judo. But considering that baritsu is a fictional fighting style, judo is a logical replacement."

Kaito and Hattori rolled their eyes simultaneously, and Conan turned to the former in mild anger. "Oi, if you're going to pretend to be me, at least _act_ like me, regardless whether people are around or not. And all those slips you made back there—I know you're a better actor then that, so could you not actively _try_ to get yourself found out? That, or switch disguises." He lowered his voice to a low hiss. "The people who are after me could be anywhere, so that plan is probably the best."

"I told you, I only had the foresight to bring one disguise." _As far as Hakuba knows_. Kaito pouted. "And you're just mad that I got to hang out with ojou-chan for more than two seconds as Kudou Shinichi."

"You're right, I _am_ mad," Conan growled. "After what you told her last—" He froze mid-sentence and his mouth dropped open. "That's it. That explains the pendulum."

He faced the other three, who were staring at him with identical looks of befuddlement. "The killer doesn't know that I'm Kudou Shinichi."

xXx

**As for that bit where Hakuba and Shiratori get along well, I always imagined that they would…every time I see Shiratori competing with Takagi over Satou (before Kobayashi-sensei, of course), he reminds me SO much of Hakuba (even though Takagi is nothing like Kaito).**


	11. King Part 1

**I know it's short, but I felt bad for making you all wait so long. But I had some difficulties with the conclusion. Scratch that, I'm still having difficulties. So it might be a bit of a wait for the next chapter. Sorry about that.**

xXx

"Whaddaya mean 'the culprit doesn' know'?" Heiji asked aggressively. "Kudou, if he doesn' know, then how do ya explain—"

Much to Heiji's annoyance, Conan completely ignored him, turning to KID instead. "KID, exactly what did the culprit say to you over the phone?"

"Um…" KID assumed the all-too-familiar look of concentration that Heiji had noticed on Conan's miniature face so many times before. "I answered the phone—after ojou-san gave it to me—with 'This is Kudou.' But the guy said, 'Hello, KID.' Then I, shocked, started to ask how he knew, but he finished the question for me, and said that he had 'done his research.' Then he changed the subject."

"Right." Conan nodded. "That's it then, definitely."

Hakuba's eyes widened. "You're not saying that the culprit thinks…."

KID groaned as he began to understand. "Really? _Again?_ This time it's not even convenient!"

As Conan shot KID a death stare, the conclusion to which the rest had come slowly dawned on Heiji. "The culprit thinks that _KID_ is _Kudou_?" He paused as he realized the implications of the timing of Conan's realization—"_Neechan_ thought that you were _KID_?"—and fought the urge to double over in hysterical laughter.

"_He_ told her that he was," Conan growled defensively. "I imagine that he was in a position in which she was about to catch him."

"That may or may not have been the situation," KID huffed as he crossed his arms in indignation.

"This is about KID, then," Hakuba realized. He turned to the thief. "So the culprit is an enemy of yours."

"Or—" KID quickly snapped his mouth shut and Hakuba glanced at him knowingly.

Heiji and Conan shared a bewildered glance. "Or what?"

Hakuba raised an eyebrow at KID questioningly, then faced the other detectives. "Or…an enemy of the predecessor of the Kaitou KID you see before you. I once ran a genetic test on KID's hair and…let's just say, he wasn't even _born_ at the time of Kaitou KID's first appearance."

"So ya _are_ as young as ya look," Heiji concluded. KID looked mildly insulted.

"Impossible," Conan muttered. "It has to be this KID." The teenagers looked down, confused.

Heiji gasped. "Yer right! The culprit has ta know that _this_ KID is young, or he wouldn' a' mistaken him fer Kudou!"

"So just _your_ enemies, then," Hakuba amended. "And he probably has connections with the police to be able to waltz into the station and set that trap. Also, only the police knew the results of that genetic test."

"Hakuba's right. And not just for that reason. By now the police _should_ know that KID—" Conan was cut of when a hand clamped over his mouth.

"—that KID's a genius, like Kudou Shinichi!" KID said quickly, with a glance at Hakuba, who rolled his eyes.

"Do any of the people on the Task Force get really furious when KID gets away?" Conan continued, ducking out and away from KID's hand.

The thief shrugged. "Nakamori-keibu's the only one who really seems to care. But there's no way it's him, if that's what you're thinking," he added.

Hakuba nodded. "KID's right. And I'd wager that no one knows the collective Task Force better than we do."

The thief didn't acknowledge this, however, for he suddenly started, his hand twitching toward his thigh. "Right, ah—anyway, I, uh, have to go to the toilet!"

"The _toilet_?" Hakuba repeated incredulously.

"Now?" Conan raised an eyebrow.

"Like we haven' heard that one before…" Heiji muttered to the boy as KID rushed off.

"Maybe if you'd stop calling me so often, Ran wouldn't think I have a bladder control problem!"

Heiji snickered. "Ahou, it's not my calls that're the problem, it's _hers_." He turned to Hakuba to elaborate: "Kudou here runs ta the toilet when someone calls him an' he needs ta use his voice-modifyin' bowtie ta answer in Kudou's voice."

"I see," Hakuba muttered. "So that's how _you_ accomplished it—I suppose you suspect that KID is employing the same tactic?"

"His hand did flinch toward where his hip pocket should be—he could have the phone set to vibrate and it went off," Conan suggested.

"He's in the presence of three detectives; either he trusts us—which is highly unlikely, given that I'm fairly certain that he trusts me about as much as a snake trusts a mongoose—or he's fielding a call from someone who can't be ignored."

"Who'd be important enough fer him ta risk that?" Heiji wondered. "Maybe that guy who sometimes helps him? His accomplice?"

"Possibly…" Hakuba admitted, giving Heiji the impression that he was holding something back.

"In any case…" Heiji adopted a devilish grin. "Wanna find out?"

"No," Conan deadpanned immediately. "Bad idea."

"Why's that?" Hakuba, who had apparently been looking forward to the prospect of spying on his nemesis, questioned with a hint of annoyance.

"KID is not the enemy, not for the time being. Right now, he's out teammate, and we need to trust him…for the time being," Conan repeated at Hakuba's scandalized expression.

_Ya'd think Kudou told him ta cut off his own arm_, Heiji thought. "Alright Kudou, I guess yer right." He sighed melodramatically. "We'll wait aroun' fer him—no matter how borin' it may be."

xXx

Kaito's eye twitched. "You called me to tell me _that_? Why would I care?"

"You were thrilled last time!" Aoko protested shrilly. "It's the same exact situation! And where are you, anyway?"

Kaito switched the phone from his right to his left hand and shifted to the side in an attempt to put more distance between his person and the toilet bowl. "A portable toilet. Now, if that's all, I'd like to leave this stink-hole as quickly as possible, so—"

"Why are you in a portable toilet?" Aoko's disgust couldn't have been more obvious.

"Hiding from Hakuba," Kaito admitted unthinkingly. He promptly slapped a hand over his mouth. _Baka, baka, bak _—

"You're hiding—Kaito, are you _stalking_ Hakuba-kun?" Aoko screeched. "Do you have any idea how dangerous that is? There's a serial killer after him! And that just makes it worse if Hakuba-kun doesn't realize you're there! Did it occur to you that you could be hurt?"

_Too late_, Kaito thought, rubbing the bandage on his upper arm.

"You know what?" Aoko continued threateningly. "I'm going to call him right now and kindly inform him that a certain magician is stalking him."

"No!" Kaito shouted. "No—don't tell him that! It's not even true!"

"Oh, no? Then be at my house in ten minutes to prove it, or I'm calling him. See you soon, anata!"

"Don't call me anata!" Kaito grumbled as he hung up his phone. _Jeez, Ahouko_…. He dropped the phone into his sleeve to be safe: the detectives might have noticed when he had instinctively reached for his pocket. And while he was skeptical that any of the detectives could out-pick-pocket the legendary Kaitou KID, they could always steal the phone in a less stealthy manner: Kaito cringed at his sudden vision of blacking out after incurring blunt force trauma from an inflatable soccer ball.

Pushing the grim possibility out of his mind, Kaito barged out of the fume-filled toilet, gasping for breath. He then proceeded to wander nonchalantly over to the spot at which he had abandoned the detectives, who—Kaito was mildly surprised to discover—hadn't moved an inch.

"I'm back!" Kaito announced cheerfully before morphing his face into an expression of sorrow. "However, I regret to inform you that I must take my leave now."

"_What?_"

"Are you _insane_?"

"We need ya ta crack this! It's _yer_ enemy an' _yer_ life at stake!"

"And Ran's!" Conan added angrily.

_Well, that went better than expected. I was anticipated a Task Froce-esque pile-up._ Kaito placed his left hand over his heart and raised his right as if taking an oath. "I swear to you that I shall return within twenty minutes. Give or take. Just tell me where to meet you."

Conan sighed in frustration. "We can't get anywhere without you. Only you know all your enemies."

"Just keep an eye on your girlfriend for the next twenty minutes and it shouldn't be a problem." Kaito paused when the only response he received was a brief glare from Conan. He pouted, and began imitating the child's voice perfectly: "Oi, KID, you still shouldn't separate from us. You're in danger!" Kaito laughed, winked, and reverted to KID's voice. "Oh, don't worry about me, tantei-kun. I can handle myself. _Ja ne, mina-san_."

He disappeared in a puff of smoke as the three detectives rolled their eyes.


	12. King Part 2

**Sorry that I haven't updated in months. I meant to update for Christmas, but I lost my notes, so I had to rewrite the whole thing. Next update will likely be late January. Happy New Year!**

**And I still don't own anything.**

"Ya don' think there're clues, do ya? At the Poe exhibit," Hattori suggested half-heartedly, walking with his hands shoved in his pockets. For the time being, Saguru, Hattori, and Conan were heading to some "Agasa" guy's house so Conan could retrieve a spare wristwatch—just in case.

"I doubt it, but we can try." Conan shrugged, obviously distracted, probably thinking about Mouri Ran. Saguru frowned at the child. _No more clues, only dead ends. Furthermore, KID (AKA Kuroba) has abandoned us, most likely in favor of checking up on Nakamori-chan. If I had to guess, now that we aren't keeping an eye on one of the remaining targets, what Conan really wants to do is find out where the safe-house is in which the police are keeping the Mouri family._

"Alright, well, we're near Occhan's agency now, so only about five minutes 'til we get ta Haka—shit!" Hattori hissed a curse as they turned the corner onto the street on which the Mouri detective agency was located. He grabbed Conan's wrist and flung himself and the boy behind a parked car.

"What are you doing?" Saguru glanced up the street and stared at the Osakan blankly upon asserting that there were no suspicious characters.

"Sh! Either get down here or stop actin' suspicious! It's not normal ta talk ta parked cars!"

Saguru sighed and knelt down beside Conan, who was rubbing his shoulder and glaring at Hattori.

"Oi, Hattori, what was that for?" Conan said impatiently; he seemed to somehow know that the situation wasn't overly serious.

Hattori ignored the boy, peeking around the car. "Okay, I don' think we were spotted. Now, we _might_ be able ta get outta here if we're quiet. An' maybe we can send out a decoy too." Hattori ripped his SAX baseball cap from his head and rammed it on Saguru's, pulling the bill low over his eyes. "Where's KID when ya need him?" Hattori muttered. "Now, Hakuba, stick yer hands in yer pockets an' don' take 'em out. An' pop yer collar ta cover yer neck an' hair. Now jus' walk down the street."

"…What?"

"Jus' do it. While yer doin' the distractin', we'll get away. Meet ya at Hakase's place; it's right next door ta Kudou's. See ya." With that, Hattori shoved Saguru (who had absolutely no idea what was going on) into the street.

"Hattor—" Saguru began to protest when he heard a furious shout from further down the street.

"_Heiji! What were ya thinkin'?_"

"Eh?" Saguru turned his head and in his momentary distraction, Hattori crawled back around the corner, dragging Conan behind him.

xXx

"For the record, I have never stalked Hakuba in my life—if anything, it's the other way around," Kaito asserted the moment Aoko opened the door. Aoko rolled her eyes as he stepped over the threshold into the house, but he could tell she was pleased: he had made it to her house within seven minutes thanks to his glider. Which was apparently proof that he was not with Hakuba.

Aoko shook her head, grinning. "BaKaito, Hakuba doesn't stalk you."

"I present Exhibit A: that time he lurked outside my house all night instead of going to the KID heist."

"You agreed to that to prove you weren't that stupid thief! Anyway, let's go." Aoko grabbed his wrist and tried to pull him back out the door; Kaito had wondered why she hadn't shut it after he had entered. "Otousan's waiting around the corner in his car. Apparently it's less suspicious that way."

Kaito dug his heels into the carpet, resisting Aoko's tugging. "Oi, Aoko. What are you talking about?"

Aoko glared at him. "I told you over the phone, BaKaito. Were you not listening? I'm going to a safe-house. There are other people there who were (or are going to be) targeted by the same killer. Otousan is going to drive me to a secluded area, then I'll be picked up at that area by the person who owns the safe-house and driven there. Otousan wishes he could come with me to the safe-house, but he said all these precautions make it harder for anyone to follow us. And…and I was hoping…" she looked toward her feet, blushing. "…I was hoping you would come with Otousan. To at least…see me off, you know?"

Kaito blinked. _That safe-house_…_is likely where Mouri-san is_._ If I go, I can think of at least one detective who will owe me one_._ And a detective owing KID a favor_…_could be useful_. "I'll do you one better: I'll come with you. Nakamori-keibu obviously can't because there's a good chance he's being trailed, but I don't think the killer even knows who I—"

"Thank you!" Aoko squealed, enthusiastically wrapping her arms around his neck. "Kaito…"

"Ah…Aoko…s-so anyway…" Kaito muttered awkwardly. "Where is it that we're going?"

Aoko switched gears from grateful to furious in the blink of an eye. "_Was I even talking to the real Kaito over the phone?_ I told you that Princess Anne was returning to Japan, and one of her bodyguards offered his Japanese summer home as a safe-house. It's in a really secluded place, but I don't know where, nor do I know who the bodyguard is. And we'll never know."

"…Huh?"

Aoko sighed heavily and began to explain: "Once Otousan brings me—well, I guess it's 'us' now, isn't it?—to the drop-off location, the bodyguard is going to honk his horn in a particular pattern to prove it's really him. Then Otousan will send us to the bodyguard's car. Once we get there, we'll go to the driver's side window, turn around, and bend down. He'll blindfold us and guide us to the backseat. His windows are tinted, so no one passing us will think we're being kidnapped. When we get to his house, he'll drop us off and let us remove the blindfolds. Oh, and you'll have to leave your phone here."

"So…" Kaito's eye twitched. "…we'll never see where he lives."

"Right."

"We'll never know his identity."

"Uh huh."

"And we'll have no way of communicating with anybody."

"Well, he might have a home phone we could use."

"…And your father's _okay_ with this?"

"It's the safest option, so why wouldn't he be?"

"Um, maybe because if this bodyguard was the killer in disguise, it would be way too easy for him to get you alone and helpless?"

"BaKaito, that's what the honking horn pattern is for."

Kaito's eye twitched again. "…Right. Okay, I'm definitely coming with you."

Aoko beamed. "That's great! Just leave your phone on the table next to mine." She pointed to a small table beside the door.

"Uh…sure." Reluctantly, Kaito pulled out his phone, powering it down as he set it on the table, solidifying to choice to protect Aoko from unlikely danger over assisting the others in tracking down not only the serial killer, but also Kudou's girlfriend. While he was positive he would find the girl through Aoko, he would have absolutely no way to contact anyone about it. Of course, the most logical choice in this situation would be to follow Aoko as Kaitou KID, now that he knew the plan. But that might lead the killer to her. And even if it didn't…. Kaito glanced at Aoko's gleeful and relieved face as he set his phone down. …_it would break her heart if I didn't go with her as Kuroba Kaito_.

_Sorry_…_Tantei-kun_.

xXx

Kazuha pressed her palm to her forehead as another wave of pain attacked her temples. She half suspected the bandages around the upper portion of her head were just for show: they certainly weren't doing anything for the pain, and she didn't have any open wounds. At least not on her head.

Her left leg was a different matter. Protected by a thick cast, it was entirely not useful: she had had to hobble around Osaka, Tokyo, and both bullet train stations in between on crutches.

Once she had woken up, her parents had informed her that she had quickly stabilized after being in critical condition for a short period of time. Probably because a rock hit her head: she doubted that a smashed leg and a few scratches counted as "critical." They also told her that Heiji had disappeared after hanging around the entire night afterwards.

It wasn't hard to guess where the ahou was headed. As soon as her parents left her alone, she took a page out of his book and snuck out of the hospital, headed for Tokyo.

She had somehow made it to the street in front of the detective agency when she felt the need to rest. She was leaning against a parked car, preparing to storm inside and tear Heiji a new one, when she spotted him.

Down the street, he had suddenly stumbled out from behind a parked car. He had his hands jammed into his pockets and she couldn't see his face, but there was no mistaking his trademark hat.

"_Heiji! What were ya thinkin'?_"

She hobbled toward him as fast as she could, while he stood in the road hesitantly, apparently weighing his options.

A tiny corner of her mind picked up on that: _Stop! That's not Heiji! Heiji's impulsive, he makes up his mind right away, he doesn' think about what he's gonna do or_—

The little voice promptly shut up as Heiji suddenly attempted to run right past her. Big mistake. A mistake Heiji probably wouldn't have made. But Kazuha, in her glee at such an opportunity, ignored that and grabbed Heiji's right wrist with her right hand. Her right crutch immediately fell, and she shifted her weight to the left crutch as she guided Heiji's wrist backwards in a low arc to get him off-balance. She then retraced the arc, yanking his wrist back around past his shoulder as if it was hinged on his elbow.

But as Kazuha brought Heiji's wrist to his shoulder, it passed before her eyes: _Pale skin_…_!_ However, the realization came too late; she instinctively followed through, knocking not-Heiji to the ground. She winced as his tailbone smacked the concrete, but was relieved to notice that he at least had the sense to keep his chin tucked to his chest. The hat flew off his head, and Kazuha attempted to kneel down and pick it up to affirm that it was Heiji's. If it wasn't, then she had absolutely no excuse for knocking this person to the ground. If it was…she had a few questions for not-Heiji.

Meanwhile, the person in question slowly stood, rubbing his back. "You must be Kazuha," he groaned.

She froze mid-crouch, struggling to kneel with a broken leg and only one crutch. "How'd ya know that?" It was only then that she got a good look at her attacker. "Wait—yer that guy from the Detective Koushien. Hakuba, right?" She sweatdropped: _He looks nothin' like Heiji_…

Hakuba nodded, and easily knelt to retrieve her fallen crutch and Heiji's hat. He then used his free hand to help her stand upright before returning her crutch. He hesitated a moment before handing over the hat, as both of Kazuha's hands were occupied with her crutches, but ultimately decided to place it lightly on her head. She made a "hmph" sound, adjusting it pointedly.

"If it helps, you were right; that is Hattori-kun's hat." Before Kazuha could ask follow-up questions, Hakuba asked one of his own: "Let me guess: you're some kind of martial arts champion. Aikido, if I had to guess."

Kazuha nodded proudly, momentarily distracted. "Nidan*."

"Of course," Hakuba grumbled somewhat bitterly. "And I suppose you occasionally practice your skills on Hattori-kun?"

"Yeah, 'cept he knows how ta fall without hurtin' himself. I'm really sorry, I thought ya—"

Hakuba waved his hand. "It's quite alright. Neither of us quite knew what was going on. Although, I'm beginning to get a clearer idea." He looked over his attacker appraisingly, blinking when his eyes reached her cast. "Uh, forgive me for prying, but shouldn't you be in a hospital?"

Kazuha glared at him. _I remember Heiji said he's a detective, but not very good_._ I think I can lie convincin'ly enough ta fool him_. "No. They jus' released me."

Hakuba sighed with what sounded like disappointment. "Well, your cast is too clean for you to have wearing it when you were attacked, which means you injured your leg in that attack, which was only a few days ago. It's standard procedure to leave people requiring casts in the hospitals longer than that. Furthermore, most people get their hospital bracelets removed upon leaving."

Kazuha glanced at the plastic bracelet on her wrist in surprise. _Heiji, ya ahou_. _Jus' 'cause ya don' like him, it doesn' mean ya can underestimate him_. _Oh, wait, this guy's still talkin'_…. She sweatdropped as Hakuba continued listing evidence.

"…And as I'm told, you were in critical condition when you first arrived at the hospital, I imagine due to a head injury, given the bandages—oi, are you okay?"

Kazuha barely registered that he was speaking to her. The edges of her vision blurred, and everything sounded muffled and distant. She stumbled forward and was vaguely aware of something catching her shoulders. As she slipped into unconsciousness, Kazuha caught an almost unintelligible voice mutter something about a concussion.

xXx

"Don' tell me he got lost," Heiji griped, pacing in front of one of the front windows. "We separated over twenty minutes ago!"

"You told him to come to a house next to another house that he had only been to once," Conan pointed out from his seat on Agasa-hakase's couch. He had been attempting to call Ran, even once as Kudou, but to no avail: the police had probably taken her cell phone. And she could be attacked at any moment; he and Heiji had deduced as they had sprinted to Hakase's that the culprit's switch from codes to trivia and letters to phone calls meant that he was beginning to abandon his own rules.

"Well, if he takes any longer, we're leavin' him an' findin' KID. It's not like we really need—" Heiji's phone vibrated, interrupting his rant. He took it out and checked the caller ID. "Eh? It's Kazuha." He pressed a button as he held it to his ear. "It's me. Are ya—"

"Hattori-kun, it's Hakuba."

"H-Hakuba?"

"Hakuba?" Conan repeated. "How does he have her phone?"

"Oi, what're ya doin' with Kazuha's phone?" Heiji asked aggressively.

"I don't have your number or Conan-kun's in my own phone, so I borrowed Kazuha-san's."

Heiji growled as that feeling returned. _That_ feeling. That irritating, distracting feeling that had been present throughout that case at the magic show. That weird mix of anger, annoyance, and desire to brutally murder any guy Kazuha admired. Including Kudou. _Especially Kudou, the traitor_, Heiji decided upon recalling how Kazuha had praised the _other_ detective during that same case. _Wait, what?_ Heiji blinked. _What was I doin'? Oh, yeah_.

"Oi, ahou, it's Toyama-san ta ya. Also, ya weren' supposed ya talk ta her, let alone steal her phone. Ya were supposed to distract her long enough fer ua ta get away, then meet us at Hakase's."

"So you would have preferred I left her passed out in the gutter?"

"Huh?"

"Baka. She was in critical condition up until a few days ago. She wasn't ready to come out of the hospital. I think she might have had a lingering concussion, and using her aikido to stop me was enough exertion to make her pass out. Fortunately, I was back on my feet in time to catch her before she fell and hit her head again. I called an ambulance, took her phone, and called as soon as we got to the hospital. I believe she's fine now, but she's still unconscious. And I'll need someone to pick me up. In the mean time, I can step outside and use her phone to inform her parents—"

"No. I'll call 'em. They know me. We'll come by in a yella' Volkswagen Beetle so Kudou can tag along. We won' be long." Heiji hung up before Hakuba could reply and turned to Conan. "Think Hakase can drive us ta the hospital?"

xXx

Kaito was understandably uncomfortable and on edge: being blindfolded in the back of a strange car, with a strange man escorting you to a strange location will do that to you. What made Kaito even more nervous was that he didn't recognize the bodyguard's voice; he must have been newly appointed, given that it was only a few months ago that KID had researched every one of the Princess's bodyguards in preparation for the heist.

At least they weren't _bound_ and gagged. He couldn't stand being restrained.

At least Aoko had been wrong on one point in describing the process. Apparently realizing the obvious flaws in the plan, it was changed last minute so that Nakamori-keibu had blindfolded the two teens himself, then escorted them to the bodyguard's car in person, thus enabling him to make sure that their escort was who he claimed to be. Kaito was pretty sure he even heard Nakamori-keibu pinch his face.

_Furthermore_…Kaito grinned, imagining Nakamori-keibu's personal cell phone resting comfortably in the theif's pocket. …_never try to confiscate the phone of an expert pickpocket, or you might just realize that he returned the favor_.

xXx

***Nidan in aikido = second-degree black belt in aikido**


	13. Help

**I updated earlier than planned due to a sudden burst of inspiration. But due to this, the story took a turn that I didn't quite expect…so it might take some extra time to get it back under control next chapter.**

**So anyway, here we'll take a break from the action to give you a brief glimpse into the killer's mind. Dialogue only, to avoid any accidental hinting. But just to get you started (and to clear up any confusion), the murderer is making a phone call for some help, and THE KILLER IS THE SECOND PERSON TO TALK.**

xXx

"Moshi moshi."

"Hello, oneechan." **(That was the killer talking, in case you don't read A/Ns. Next comes the person who answered the phone, the one the killer is calling:)**

"Mou. I thought I told you not to call me by that title anymore? Call me 'imouto.' Or better yet, my name. What is it that you want, exactly?"

"I can't just call you because I miss you?"

"Hmph. Not likely. Will you hurry up and tell me what you need? I have to be somewhere."

"An assignment?"

"Yes. I have to keep in touch with our agent preparing to go undercover to investigate an elusive case. That's all I can share."

"I thought information gathering was _your_ specialty."

"I already had my chance."

"Oh."

"So, about what you wanted?"

"It's not much. I've already done all the investigating and preparation. I just need assistance in covering it up."

"Covering _what_ up?"

"My revenge."

"Don't—don't tell me you're still bearing a grudge from a few months ago! It was just a bit of humiliation."

"I was _demoted_."

"You deserved it. You associate with people like me, remember? And you've obviously got a sadistic streak yourself. That's not an optimal trait for someone involved in law enforcement."

"S-sadistic streak?"

"If we ignore your current desire to put the target of your revenge six feet under, you've always had the tendency to, shall we say, 'shoot first, ask questions later'."

"…How did you know I was planning to kill him?"

"What else could you be planning to do that would require you to call in a favor from _me_? In fact, if I had to guess, somehow more people got mixed up in this, so you need a mass murder to be covered up. Am I right?"

"Hm. The police here are fools. As soon as I suggested that we cluster together the people involved for maximum safety, they jumped at the idea. But really, it will just make my job—our job, if you accept—easier."

"So what were you thinking? A fire, made to look like an internal combustion? Or possibly gas them, and make it look like a carbon monoxide leak?"

"Any of the above. You could also start a forest fire; that would make it less obvious. Make it look like a coincidence."

"Well I suppose I could fit something like that into my busy schedule. Just let me know when you're ready for me to act."

"Will do. Ja ne."

"Ja ne."

xXx

**Now you, dear readers, have more than one identity to guess. Because guess what? Neither of the people in this chapter are OCs! The person the killer is calling won't be as hard to guess, but triple kudos to you if you get the identity of the killer him/herself! I dropped a couple hints, but I don't think it was enough for you to deduce the identity, so you have my eternal respect if you do.**


	14. Danger

**Another update! That's three in like one week! I'll attribute it to being inspired by the new DC opening theme. So I have absolutely no idea when the next update will be. If I'm inspired, it will probably be in the next week. If not, it will not be sooner than two weeks form now.**

**Also, I probably should've clarified my hint in the last chapter: the two characters are DC/MK canon, but their relationship isn't necessarily canon. So yeah, sorry if that pokes a hole in anyone's deduction. But if you guessed the person whom the killer called, you probably could have figured out that their relationship isn't canon, since it hasn't been stated in canon whether either of the people in the last chapter have any siblings.**

…**But after reading this chapter, you can probably guess who the other person was from the last chapter.**

xXx

"_Black Star Heist"_…_I know that one, but the only people who would be angry as a result of what took place are the Suzuki family, Ran, and myself. But I doubt Suzuki-san would attack anyone due to that, especially not Ran_…Conan mused, scrolling down a list on his phone, mentally checking off heists that might inspire vengeful thoughts in a psychopathic "victim." He was currently riding in uncomfortable silence (which he ignored easily, wrapped up in his list) with Hattori in the back seat of Agasa-hakase's car.

"Oi, Kudou." Hattori elbowed Conan in the shoulder as the shorter detective continued to poke at the buttons on his phone. "Why's she comin'?" he muttered under his breath, gesturing toward the passenger seat.

A child's head swiveled around to glare at Hattori from said seat. He started guiltily at her gaze. "Because this case requires damage control. If we aren't careful, Kudou-kun's name could resurface in the media due to this case of mistaken identity. Then _they_ will get involved."

"The Black Organization," Conan clarified, never removing his eyes from his phone.

Hattori nodded, then leaned over to peek at the screen over Conan's shoulder. "An' what're ya doin' now?"

"I called Takagi-keiji form the house while you were calling Toyama-san and told him that Occhan needed a list of cases involving Kaitou KID to be sent to my phone." Conan grimaced at the dark-skinned detective. "But I'm not having much luck. In all the cases I'm familiar with, everyone who could hold a grudge (and who fits the profile of a serial killer in the making) is in jail…as far as I know. And then I've never heard of some of these cases. Have you?" Conan held out the phone to Hattori, who took it hesitantly.

"I don' really keep tabs on KID, but there was a heist in Osaka awhil' back….Ah, here." Hattori pointed at a case name about two-thirds down the list. "'The Fire Diamon' Heist.' KID actually uncovered a smugglin' ring, but I'm pos'tive that all the guys involved're in jail."

Conan took the phone back and glanced out the car window when Hakase brought the car to a smooth stop; Hakuba was already waiting for them outside the hospital entrance.

"I guess you'll just have to ask that guy then." Haibara gestured to Hakuba as he approached. "From your description of him, he seems to know a great deal about your thief."

Hattori's frown deepened and he grumbled something about "obsessive" as Conan slid to the middle to allow the blonde a seat.

"Where's my hat?" Hattori asked abruptly as soon as Hakuba pulled open the door.

Conan rolled his eyes. "What he means is, is she alright?"

"Of course." Hakuba closed the door and clicked on his seatbelt. "Otherwise, I wouldn't have left. And I left your hat with her: she's still unconscious, but as she passed out, she grabbed your hat. She's holding on to it as if her life depended on it." As Hakuba settled into his seat, he winced slightly.

"What's wrong with ya?" Hattori asked in a manner that lacked any hint of concern whatsoever; in fact, he looked mildly hopeful.

"Nothing," Hakuba muttered, frowning.

"…She threw ya, didn' she?"

Hakuba winced again. "It was on a concrete street. You could have warned me that she's a black belt."

Hattori snorted amusedly.

In the front seat, Haibara cleared her throat impatiently; Conan raised an eyebrow questioningly. _Now what does she_—_oh_. "Um, by the way, Hakuba, this is Agasa-hakase and Haibara Ai."

"Pleased to meet you," Hakase said cheerfully as he restarted the car; Haibara merely nodded pleasantly. Conan's eye twitched. _Oi, oi, you're the one who wanted to be introduced, right? Or were you just irritated that I was being rude?_

"Likewise. But Conan-kun, you didn't call me Hakuba-niisan." Hakuba spoke as if it were an observation rather than a reprimand.

"They know," Conan assured him.

"I see. I suspected as much."

"Hakase invented the gadgets that help me continue to solve cases," Conan continued. He held up his wrist. "…Including the Stun-gun Wristwatch and Voice-Changing Bowtie I use to act as Occhan. And my shoes, which use electric and magnetic fields to stimulate the muscles in my feet to let me kick as if I were still a teenager."

"Impressive," Hakuba commended Hakase as he leaned down to inspect the aforementioned shoes.

Hakase laughed proudly. "Thank you, Hakuba-san!"

"And Haibara—is in my situation," Conan said vaguely upon catching Haibara's warning glance. She evidently didn't fully trust Hakuba. Fortunately, the latter noticed Conan's hesitance to breach the topic and didn't pursue it.

"Anyway, Hakuba, this is a list of cases that KID has been involved in since his reemergence. Do you recognize any of them?" Conan handed the phone to Hakuba. "We're trying to isolate anyone who may have been wronged somehow as a result of a heist."

Hakuba nodded, taking the phone. "I haven't had many experiences with his earlier heists, but I'll see what I can do."

It was then that Conan noticed Hattori's uncharacteristic silence. He glanced up to see the Osakan glaring at Hakuba—no, not Hakuba, his eyes were too unfocused for that. His gaze was aimed out the window.

"Oi, Hakase, would you stop the car?"

"Uh, sure." Hakase immediately did as requested, having conveniently spotted a place to pull over quickly. "But Shinichi—"

Conan ignored him. "Hattori. Get out."

"E-Eh?" Hattori blinked at the boy. "What?" Even Hakuba had taken his eyes from the list on the phone to look down at Conan bemusedly.

"If you're worried about her, you should go. We need your help, but not if your head isn't in it." Piercing blue eyes met alarmed green. "So get out and go back to the hospital."

"K-Kudou…" Hattori's eyes widened before quickly narrowing in fury. "Ahou! Yeah, 'm worried 'bout Kazuha, who wouldn' be? But 'm not gonna ditch ya now, a' all times! Ya think that little a' me? An' 'sides, this guy's not after Kazuha anymore, but he migh' still be tryin' ta kill _us_; goin' ta Kazuha'll jus' put her in more danger!"

Conan waited a beat before grinning. "Thanks, Hattori. That's just what I'd hoped you'd say. We can keep going now, Hakase." _I'll have to remember to thank his father for giving me that particular manipulation technique_. _Hattori wasn't about to get his mind off Kazuha unless I tried to block him out of the investigation_._ Which would naturally get him angry and fired up about the case_.

_Wait!_ Conan jumped slightly, startled at his sudden epiphany. "That's it!"

Hakuba and Hattori responded immediately and eagerly:

"What did you realize?"

"Whatcha got, Kudou?"

"We decided the culprit is somehow involved with the police, right?" Conan said, his finger under his chin contemplatively. "Because he managed to booby-trap Nakamori-keibu private room. What if he was somehow demoted as a result of a KID heist? What if was blocked out of investigations, and as a result became bitter and vengeful? Of course…" Conan asked, glancing subtly at Hattori. "…he would have needed to be a psychopath already to go on a killing spree over something so trivial."

Hakuba nodded. "I'm inclined to agree with your logic, partly because I already scanned the list of remaining heists on your cell phone and—from those that I have knowledge of—there are not any criminals remaining capable of being the culprit. However, from an emotional standpoint, as someone who knows the personalities of the Task Force members, none of them profile as a psychopath. Furthermore, none of them are ever demoted; no one has a particularly successful time of trying to catch KID, so it's difficult to have a particularly dismal time of it."

"Have you considered the loved ones of the people who are in jail due to KID's interference?" Haibara suggested. "It could explain why the culprit targeted each detective's significant other as well. There's also the possibility that the culprit is an enemy of Kudou Shinichi. That's who he believes KID to be, ne?"

"Well, it can' be 'cause a' Kudou, we know that. The culprit likes ta be in control, an' he wouldn' target Kudou unless he knew where he was. So he musta figured out that KID was Kudou in this revenge setup, 'stead a' the other way aroun'," Hattori pointed out. "Although, we never thought a' the scorned lover angle…."

Hakuba pinched the bridge of his nose. "That means we have to go through all these cases _again_ just to composite a list of criminals that KID helped catch, then check to see if they even _had_ lovers who were angry enough to kill eleven innocents to cover up the murder of one thief."

"Well, we can cross off Shimizu Reiko and Masaharu Nishio," Conan noted grimly. "It's a start."

Hakuba blinked. "Who?"

"Oi, don' ya remember?" Hattori grunted impatiently. "It wasn' that long a—oi! What was _that_ fer?" Conan looked up at Hattori innocently, as if he hadn't just plunged an elbow into the teenager's midsection.

"It was just a case we were involved in awhile ago," the boy assured Hakuba, ignoring Hattori's grumbling.

The British detective didn't look appeased. Instead, he facepalmed. "He impersonated me, didn't he?"

"Ah, well…"

"In any case," Haibara interrupted loudly, with a look on her face that clearly conveyed her distaste in their topic of conversation, "you can at least narrow down your search with the fact that your culprit has connections with the police, though it appears that he is not a part of the Task Force."

xXx

She had received the location of the target house only a few moments ago via text. By chance, however, she had been in the area and arrived swiftly; she was now crouched in the bushes in the forests surrounding the house, absolutely sure that she couldn't be spotted by the people inside. The shades were down, but she could see their silhouettes; there seemed to be three of them, a man and two women. One of them had to be the owner of the safe-house.

_That person was smart when suggesting a forest fire_, she mused, turning her attention to her surroundings. The house was located in a highly secluded portion of woodland, and a forest fire would draw the least the suspicion.

Suddenly, a car pulled around a bend and into view. Startled, she retreated further into the underbrush. She was even more shocked to see the car pull into the driveway; a man and two blindfolded teenagers, a boy and a girl, stepped out. Her first thought was the realization that the man with the teenagers had to be the true owner of the house, which meant that everyone inside must be those who required protection. And her second thought…

_Those_—_those kids_…_they can't be_…

"Ne, Kaito, where are you?"

"I'm right here, Ahouko."

"I can't see. Hold my hand so I don't trip."

"Wh-why would I do that? And I can't see either!"

She heaved a sigh of relief. _They aren't them_…._But that boy_…_I know him_. _He must be Kuroba Kaito_. She shook her head. _Ignore him_. _He'll die soon enough too_. _But why are those two in need of protection? Don't tell me that the Kuroba boy_….

She quickly forgot about her suspicion as she watched the trio approach the house. The man removed the teenagers' blindfolds, unlocked and opened the door, and escorted them inside. A few moments later, the man left the house again, got in his car, and drove off the way he had come.

She raised an eyebrow. _He just left them? Does that mean __I'm__ supposed to_—However, she was quickly distracted when Kuroba Kaito lifted the shades, and the silhouettes she had previously seen were replaced with people. People she knew. Her breath caught in her throat.

_No_…_Angel_….

xXx

"Mouri-san!"

Ran and her father had been standing anxiously beside the window. At this point, her mother had gotten a headache and decided to lie down in a guest room. None of them were permitted to use a phone, and there wasn't even basic cable in the house. Furthermore, their food consisted of bread, canned soup, and water.

Needless to say, her father was miserable. Which made him snap at her mother. Which made her mother miserable (Ran suspected that had been part of the reason she had chosen to go to bed). And her parents not getting along made Ran miserable.

Not to mention the threat of murder looming over them.

So when the man in whose house they were staying (they were told he was a bodyguard for a princess who happened to be visiting Japan) informed them that they would be adding another teenaged girl to their party, Ran was admittedly a little relieved. Apparently, this other girl had almost been killed because of Hakuba. Like Kazuha had been hurt because of Hattori. Like her parents—she tried not to think about that. She also tried not to think about the fact that she was going to be targeted because of Conan.

_Conan-kun_…_why? Why would someone do this? Especially to him: he's only seven!_

Also, if the safe-house were to be attacked, it would be because the murderer wanted Ran dead. So if they were all attacked at the same time, it would be because of her.

She tried not to think about that either.

When their host finally returned with a friendly shout of their family name, he unknowingly (and thankfully) broke a particularly tense silence between the two anxious family members. They both stood to greet their new group member, but stood shell-shocked when the girl entered.

Not only did her face look identical to Ran's, she came in with a teenaged boy. A boy who just _had_ to be….

"Shin—!"

"This is Nakamori Aoko and her friend, Kuroba Kaito," their host introduced the pair before Ran could finish her exclamation.

"But…but he…" Ran protested weakly. _He has to be Shinichi_._ It can't be a coincidence; they look exactly the same! Except for his hair, but_—

"Now, I apologize, but it just occurred to me that I should probably pick up more food, given that our group has grown by two. So I'll leave you all to get acquainted. I'll be back soon." With that, the man left, regardless of Ran's father's protests that he had a few questions first.

"_Kuso_," he cursed as the other man ignored him completely, returning to his car out front. Ran was partially relieved: between his thick beard and gravelly voice, their host unnerved her.

"So it's as he said," the girl—Nakamori-san—said brightly. "I'm Nakamori Aoko and this is my friend, Kuroba Kaito. You may call him BaKaito if you wish."

"Oi, Aoko!"

"Quiet, Kaito, you're being rude—so what are your names?"

"I'm Mouri Kogoro, tantei-san," Ran's father boasted. "Perhaps you've heard of me, Nemui no Kogoro?"

"Of course!" Nakamori chirped. "My father has talked about you! He's the inspector who can't catch KID. But I'd bet anything he will one of these days. Ne, Kaito?"

"Uh…s-sure…" the Shinichi-lookalike shook his head, contradicting his statement, but Nakamori chose to ignore him and turned to Ran.

"And you are?"

"I'm his daughter, Mouri Ran. My mother's here too, but she's currently lying down." As she spoke, Nakamori's friend moved toward the window to fold up the shades and peered out. Ran blinked. "What are you doing?"

He waited a few moments, but finally shrugged and responded, "It's nothing, I just got a weird feeling…like we're being watched."

"Geez, Kaito, you're so paranoid."

"Shouldn't I be? I'm here to protect you, ne?"

As they continued their banter, Ran smiled at them fondly. No, he was definitely not like Shinichi. More like Hattori-kun, if anything. And watching them interact…was like watching Hattori-kun and Kazuha-chan. She giggled, but couldn't shake that hollow, jealous feeling that always crept up at times like these.

_I wish_…_we could be like that again_. _Shinichi and I_.

xXx

"Ne, Haibara, do you think it might be possible—"

"No."

"But what if—"

"You've got KID. If any emergencies crop up, you won't need it."

"But we don' even know where that ahou thief is or what he's doin'!"

"Keep out of this, Hattori-kun."

Hattori raised his hands defensively when the girl snapped at him and sunk back into his seat. Saguru raised an eyebrow as Conan continued to try to persuade her of something. So far, she was sticking to her guns. However, Saguru could tell she wanted to help him in some way.

Even when she wasn't talking to any of them, she had glanced back at the boy's face thirteen times since Saguru had entered the car.

"No is _no_, Kudou-kun. Do you want to become immune? Is temporarily returning worth never being able to be Kudou Shinichi permanently?"

Now Saguru could figure out their line of conversation. But he had no clue that Kudou had the option to temporarily return. Nor could he understand how this girl was mixed up in the situation. She obviously controlled Conan's dosage, so she likely developed the antidote. Conan had said they were in the same situation, but even then, her mind should only be seventeen or eighteen. She was obviously brilliant, but how could she be smart enough to develop an antidote to a drug she never encountered? That meant that there was only one explanation.

"Don't tell me you developed the drug that shrunk him!" Saguru gasped.

Haibara glared at Conan accusingly. She apparently hadn't wanted the unfamiliar detective to know about that. Conan shrugged helplessly and turned to Saguru. "You're right. Haibara used to be in the Organization. They killed her sister and she tried to escape, but they caught her. She…um…took the untraceable poison she developed for them and accidentally shrunk herself. She knew who I was, so she came to me for help. She's living with Hakase right now."

"I see…" Saguru was still mildly confused by the situation—for one, why was Conan associating with a person who developed an untraceable poison, let alone one that ruined his life?—but he decided to drop the subject; the girl didn't look as if she would appreciate his prying.

Fortunately, Saguru's ringing phone provided a perfect distraction. "Hm? It's Nakamori-keibu." His curiosity suddenly turned to alarm and worry: _What if something happened to Nakamori-chan?_

"He might have some info 'bout KID," Hattori suggested, but Saguru was already answering the phone when Hattori spoke.

"Moshi moshi? Nakamori-keibu?"

"Sorry to disappoint, Tantei-san."

"KID? How—?"

Conan and Hattori turned their attention to Saguru hopefully.

"Simple. I relieved Nakamori-keibu of his phone. It would seem that his daughter was transported to the very same safe-house as tantei-kun's girlfriend. So I secretly followed their car. I'm merely calling so tantei-kun can have some peace of mind when I tell you the location. That aside, they seem to be pretty safe here. The police have taken many precautions. I only got by because I can fly above the ground."

"That's reassuring, at least." Saguru took out a notebook and pen. "Can you give me the location now?"

"Sure thing. Just—"

Saguru never heard what KID said next, and he never would. For at that moment, Hattori screamed "GET DOWN!" and bullets ripped through the car windows.

xXx

"Tantei-san?" Kaito asked urgently. "Tantei-san! Oi, Hakuba!" It was no use; even if Hakuba could answer him, he probably wouldn't. From the sound of the shattering glass, the detectives had just been targets of a machine gun—or, more likely, a machine pistol.

"Kaito? Who are you talking to?" Aoko's muffled voice floated through the closed door.

_Kuso!_ "Geez, Aoko, I'm in the bathroom! I'm not talking to anyone!" Fairly certain that he wouldn't hear a reply from Hakuba, Kaito worriedly hung up the phone and put it back in his pocket.

"I definitely heard you say something, Kaito!"

"I stumbled a little bit, okay? It surprised me!"

There was silence for a moment; Kaito almost couldn't believe he had appeased her. "Well anyway, I came to tell you that I told Ran-chan that you're a magician, and you'll do a magic for us once you get out!"

_Oi, she's calling her "Ran-chan" already? Wait—that girl can't see me perform! She'll figure out my identity immediately: she knows that KID looks like Kudou Shinichi and is a magician_._ There's no way she can ignore such a coincidence_. "B-but Aoko! I left all my stuff with your father, just in case."

"Liar! You've always got stuff on you!"

Kaito sweatdropped. _That girl knows me too well_….

"Look, you better be out here in five minutes to give a magic show, and I won't take no for an answer, you got that?" Aoko huffed stubbornly and backed away from the door.

_There's only one way to get out of this: ruin Kuroba Kaito's reputation as a magician_._ That should relieve any suspicion_. Kaito winced. _However painful that may be_. _And speaking of pain_…_are the tantei okay?_ Kaito glanced down at the pocket which cradled Nakamori-keibu's phone, and suddenly had another thought, a thought that chilled him to the bone.

_Did they even survive?_


	15. False Advertising

**As promised, here's the next chapter, two weeks later!**

xXx

"Okay, now watch closely…" Kaito put his thumbs together side-by-side and held out his hands, palms forward. Aoko, Mouri Ran, Mouri-tantei, and Kisaki-san (who had returned to the main room in order to meet the newcomers) were seated in a small semi-circle of chairs before Kaito. Aoko watched expectantly, with a hint of confusion; she had never seen this trick before.

Kaito wiggled his fingers. "See, it's a dove!"

Aoko turned to the Mouri family when she finally understood. "Don't worry," she assured them in a stage whisper, "he does this sort of stuff sometimes as a sort of introduction. He's going to do something really amazing pretty soon."

_Sorry to disappoint, Aoko_. _If it's any consolation, this will embarrass me more than it will you_. "Just kidding! Now for the real trick!" He turned his back on his audience so they wouldn't see the preparation. He balled up his hands, keeping his thumb covered within both fists. He then poked his thumb up between his index and middle fingers on his left hand and put the sides of his thumbs against each other, one on top of the other. It now looked liked he had his left index finger hooked around his right thumb. He wheeled back around dramatically.

"Now prepare to be amazed, as I detach my thumb!" The two girls produced horrified squeaks, while the adults raised their eyebrows with slight skepticism. Kaito slowly pulled his fists apart, pretending to struggle with the task. "Ta…da!" he gasped laboriously. He then banged his fists together and opened his palms with a flourish. "…And it's as good as new!"

Kisaki continued to regard him with skepticism, while Mouri just blinked. Kaito wasn't sure if the latter was totally lost or trying to figure out the trick. He went with the latter, given that Mouri assumed the same look of skepticism as Kisaki within a few moments.

However, their daughter watched him with a slightly bemused look, as if she had been expecting something more. Which wasn't necessarily a good thing, given Kaito's current situation. Although, there wasn't much drama to this particular "trick"—maybe that fact alone would prove his innocence.

"Kaito," Aoko whined, "what was that? Your tricks are usually so flamboyant…."

_Ahouko! Shut up!_

"Flamboyant?" Ran turned to her lookalike.

Aoko nodded. "His magic tricks are so similar to Kaitou KID's that Otousan has asked Kaito for help with KID-proofing heists. Ne, Kaito?"

_Why didn't you just shoot me, Aoko? It would've been a quicker way to die_….

"…We also actually suspected that he _was_ KID a couple times!"

_So she obviously hates me now_._ Wait_—_this might actually work in my favor, if she just keeps talking_….

"…But he had alibis—both times!" Aoko said proudly. "The first time he was with me the whole time, the second time he was handcuffed to Hakuba during the heist!"

"Oh?" Ran turned back to Kaito, but the look in her eyes was slightly different. They seemed softer, somehow, like they lacked an emotion they had previously held. An emotion like distrust, or even suspicion.

…_In the span of four seconds, Aoko managed to curb her suspicion_—_which I've been trying to do since we got here_. Kaito grinned. _Go, Aoko!_

"So, go on, Kaito," Aoko pleaded. "Do your _real_ magic!"

Kaito grinned. "If you say so…"

_However_…Kaito thought as he began preparation for another trick, making sure to keep up the cheerful, carefree demeanor. …_I have to end this show as soon as possible_. _I need to make sure that those guys are okay_—_if they're even still alive_.

xXx

Heiji blinked his eyes open groggily, wincing at the glaring lights. He tried to sit up to assess his surroundings, but pain stabbed his right shoulder when he did so. He gasped and fell back, and gradually became aware of more sharp pain along his thighs, shoulder blades, and the backs of his hands. He weakly threw off the hospital sheets—for he was obviously in a hospital, probably the same one as Kazuha—and inspected his wounds, thinking back to what had occurred.

Hakuba had been on the phone with KID when Heiji had happened to glance out the window. He didn't immediately register that the person riding the motorcycle alongside them was the one he and KID had pursued earlier. Until, that is, the biker held up a machine pistol and aimed it into the backseat of their car. Heiji remembered shouting a warning and ducking, feeling a bullet chip his shoulder and glass rain down on him, before the car swerved and he blacked out.

_Kudou_…_is he alright?_ Heiji assumed that if Conan had not been injured, he would be waiting by Heiji's hospital bed…unless someone else was hurt worse.

Heiji sat up slowly, avoiding leaning on his wounded shoulder. He swung his legs off the bed slowly, fully intending to find a doctor to inquire about his companions. When the doctor himself entered the room, he found Heiji leaning against a wall, propped up on shaky, bleeding legs.

"Oi!" the doctor shouted, steering Heiji back to his bed. "You can't stand up yet! You just recently hit your head in a car crash, got shot in the shoulder, and had glass shards buried in your back, legs, and hands."

Heiji ignored him. "Where're the others?"

"If you mean the people who were in the car with you, they're all here as well. The only one who was not seriously injured was the little girl in the passenger seat. We just finished dressing her scrapes, and she's waiting in the older man—the driver's—room right now," the doctor explained, popping a thermometer in Heiji's mouth. "But don't worry, none of them are in critical condition. You may all be released in a day or two. Maybe longer for the blond boy: there was a bullet embedded in his leg which required surgery to extract."

He pulled the thermometer out of Heiji's mouth and the detective immediately spoke up. "An' the culprit? Did anyone catch him?"

"Unfortunately not. It took awhile for anyone to respond; if you were injured more seriously, if the crash had been worse, you likely wouldn't be here right now. You're lucky." The doctor stood. "You aren't running a fever. A nurse will be here momentarily."

Heiji nodded eagerly. _An' that give me plenty a' time ta get out through the winda' _—

"And don't even think about escaping," the doctor warned as an afterthought, as if he had read Heiji's mind. "The windows are bolted shut, and there's a nurse outside in the hall at all times."

Heiji gaped at him. _How'd ya guess _—_?_

"We called your parents to inform them. Your father warned us that you have a tendency to…discharge yourself early. So you'll be remaining here, in this room, for the next couple days."

xXx

"And that concludes my show! You've been a wonderful audience!" Kaito bowed deeply, admittedly thankful that it was finally over. He usually loved performing, but not when he had no idea whether his detective friends were even alive. And Aoko had insisted on a legitimate show. About an hour into it, he had declared intermission so he could sneak away to attempt to call Hakuba again. No luck. And now, an hour later, he was eager to make another attempt. "But unfortunately, you've worn me out, so if you don't mind, I'd like to take a quick rest." With a snap of his fingers, he was enveloped in a light pink cloud. When the smoke cleared, he was no where to be seen. Rather, he had dashed around the corner, intent on finding the bedroom to get some privacy.

If Aoko found out he had the phone, she would accuse him of stealing it. Evidence of his thievery might revive Ran's suspicion. And that would be very, very bad.

Kaito started to dial Hakuba's number, his hands shaking slightly in nervousness; however, before he could press the call button, a call came in—from Hakuba himself. Kaito quickly assumed KID's voice.

"Moshi moshi, Tantei-san?"

"Tantei-kun, actually," Conan's voice corrected him.

Kaito's heart sunk: it couldn't be a good sign that Conan had to answer Hakuba's phone. _Stay in character_. "What happened? I thought I heard some rapid-fire shooting going on before Tantei-san hung up quite rudely."

"The culprit ambushed us. Everyone's fine, but in the hospital. And Hakuba's phone was damaged, so it doesn't accept incoming calls anymore, but it can still make calls."

"How did you know I tried to call?"

"You answered too fast: you must have already had the phone in your hand. And why else would you be using Nakamori-keibu's phone? It would be strange to just be calling now, for the first time, when the last time you had contact with us was over an hour ago. So you must have tried to call before now at least once."

"Point one for the detective." He rolled his eyes. "Well, thanks for giving me some peace of mind, but—"

"Wait!" Conan hissed upon noticing that Kaito was attempting to end the conversation. "I need you to tell me where you are! You didn't get a chance to tell Hakuba before the crash."

"Eh?" Kaito blinked. "Ah, right, I forgot. We're in Beika Woods. It's a really secluded part, though. Upon entering the woods, we made two rights, a left, a right, then a final left, and went straight for quite a few miles. Sorry, but I don't know exactly where we entered. It was from a highway, I know that." Kaito clearly recalled the amount of light filtering in through the blindfold cloth dimming considerably; from that, Kaito had deduced that they had entered woodland. Given the lack of woodland in the general area, it was obvious they were in Beika Woods, so Kaito had begun counting the turns as soon as the light dimmed. Obviously, the clue about a highway was taken from the speed of the car and the noise surrounding them.

"I see," Conan muttered grimly.

"Oi, why so disappointed?"

Conan heaved a frustrated sigh. "Well, that's—"

There was suddenly a loud banging on the door. Kaito glanced up, alarmed. _Aoko!_ "Gottagobye," he whispered into the phone and hung up just in time: Aoko has started to shout.

"Kaito! Come on out! You've been in there like ten minutes! And our host is back—be polite and come out!"

"Uh, sure thing!" Kaito stuffed the phone in his pocket hastily. _Why is our location a problem?_

xXx

"Moshi moshi?" Takagi Wataru answered his cell phone hesitantly: according to the caller ID, it was an unfamiliar number.

"Hi, Takagi-keiji! It's Conan!" the boy chirped in a far-too-cheerful tone, considering he and his surrogate family were all being targeted by a killer. But Takagi figured that the boy had probably just built up an immunity to fear by now.

"Oh, Conan-kun. What happened to your phone?"

"I lost it, so I borrowed Hakuba-niisan's. Anyway, Oji-san wants to know about the safe-house they're at."

Takagi blinked. _Surely he doesn't think I'll fall for that?_ "Conan-kun, I'm not telling you its location. You declined to go there in order to investigate with Shinichi-kun and the others, remember?"

"Ah, no, I know!" Conan quickly amended. "Oji-san just wanted to know about the owner."

"Oh, him? None of us were given his name, for security precautions, but he's a bodyguard for a princess visiting Japan."

"A princess?"

"Princess Anne, of the Duchy of Sabrina. Nakamori-keibu helped us with finding someone who could volunteer a safe-house; apparently he's a pretty low-level bodyguard. Only the head of his team is permitted to know his name; even Nakamori-keibu was left out of the loop." Takagi chuckled nervously and lowered his voice: he was still in the police station, after all. "And since the safe-house was even Nakamori-keibu's idea, he wasn't exactly pleased."

"It was Nakamori-kiebu's idea?" Conan hissed urgently.

Takagi blinked at the sudden change of tone. "Ah, yes, but—"

"Thanks, Takagi-keiji, I'll tell Oji-san."

"Ah, wait, Conan-kun—" Takagi cut himself off when he heard the click signaling that Conan had hung up.

…_Just who on earth is he?_

xXx

Saguru had woken up rather quickly, considering his wound, and, unlike Hattori, did not see any reason to work against the doctors; however, Saguru's condition was slightly worse than Hattori's, apparently. According to the doctor, his own injuries were the worst of their group, though only the Haibara child escaped completely unscathed. Thus far, the doctor had not permitted any of them to leave the hospital besides the child, but she had decided of her own accord to stay.

As the man explained, Saguru took note of his frazzled appearance. When he inquired as to why the doctor seemed so stressed, he complained that Hattori had attempted to escape.

Five times.

In twenty minutes.

Saguru felt the urge to chuckle, instead trying to appear apologetic. As soon as the doctor left (he had gotten a call: apparently, Hattori was trying to use his kendo skills to break open a window with an IV stand), Saguru rummaged through the pockets of his blood-soaked pants, which the doctor had left for him (along with his other clothes) folded on the chair beside his bed. He breathed a sigh of relief when his fingers found Conan's phone. If he had lost it, he might just become as desperate as Hattori; at least with the phone's list of heists, he could investigate while he waited for release.

He had only been perusing the list for a few moments when he came across the heists he had most recently attended. Saguru raised his eyebrows in surprise: _How did I not see it before?_ He quickly began to dial Nakamori-keibu's number, but stopped short when he noticed the lack of cell phone reception.

_Damn, I forgot that phones don't work in hospitals. The one the doctor just used must have been adjusted to accommodate for that_.

Saguru quickly poked the call button for the nurse. He had to get to a usable phone, fast. He needed the police file on Interpol Agent Jack Connery as soon as possible.

Somehow, he was certain that this had something to do with Nightmare. He was the only person who had ever been killed at a KID heist, and there was admittedly a lack of police investigation regarding his death, due to Nakamori-keibu's insistence that KID could not have killed him. Someone close to the man could have easily assumed that KID had killed him and the police had done nothing—which was why the culprit was also taking out police consultants. His wife was dead and his only child was too young to concoct such a clever and cold-hearted plan—_If Kenta's even still alive_, Saguru realized with a heavy heart.

Regardless, it was probable that Connery had siblings or living parents who might want revenge.

xXx

Look, try anything again and we _will_ call the police. Do you understand?" The nurse threatened Heiji.

"Yeah, yeah, I got it," Heiji grumbled. His latest attempt to break out had largely been a failure. He had cracked open the door to his room slightly and rolled a bottle cap down the hall, away from the nurse standing guard. When she hesitantly left her post to investigate, Heiji had slipped out of his room—and right into a second nurse, who had steered him back to his bed and flicked on the television, hoping to keep him occupied.

Apparently finding Heiji's response to her lecture satisfactory, she finally left him alone with the news.

The anchor had only just finished a segment on Heiji's case, concluded with the fact that the culprit remained at large. Heiji winced.

"In other news, Sasaki Ryu has been released from prison only last week," the announcer continued.

Heiji blinked. _That name sounds sorta familiar_…. It only clicked when the announcer recounted the man's crime: he acted as an accomplice to a man who kidnapped the loved ones of detectives and held them hostage in the amusement park Miracle Land in order to force them to solve a murder case.

Heiji leapt out of bed and pointed accusingly at the television. "Him!" _I remember him from that case! He was the guy who pretended ta die jus' ta get some cash! He was arrested 'cause a' that, so he's got a reason ta hate not only KID, but also us! How'd he get outta jail so fast though?_ Heiji shook his head vigorously. _Doesn' matter_. _I gotta find Kudou an' share this with him_. It was then that Heiji noted the unused IV stand. His eyes wandered from that to the window. He grinned.

_Perfect_.

xXx

Aoko held her hands on her hips as she waited for her best friend to come back out. What was he doing in there, anyway?

"Aoko, what did you want?" Kaito grumbled, annoyed, when he finally opened the door.

"We heard a car drive up, so I came to get you so you could greet our host and thank him properly. We never got the chance." She grabbed his wrist and pulled him to the front room.

"So the magician returns." Kisaki smiled.

"It really was a terrific show, Kuroba-san!" Ran said earnestly.

Mouri nodded. "It was nice to have a distraction from our situation."

"Thank you." Kaito bowed low as Aoko beamed with pride in her friend. "Where's our host?"

"Given the time since we heard the engine stop, he should be at the door right—" Kisaki started. She never finished, though, because the door suddenly crashed inward. In its place stood a tall man in a motorcycle helmet armed with a large gun.

Aoko froze, barely aware that Kaito had pushed her behind himself. When she finally snapped out of it, she screamed. Glass shattered and a bullet struck the mirror hanging on the wall just behind her. She fainted, barely hearing Kaito yell her name.

xXx

**So all our meitantei have a suspect, but they'll be seeing who's right soon enough. (In case you couldn't tell, I hinted that Conan suspects Nakamori: you'll find out why next chapter.) Plus, all the suspects are different—looks like a Lavender Mansion-esque setup. Not to mention, with said meitantei shut up in the hospital, how will Kaito and the Mouri family escape?**


	16. Revelation

**Sorry about the wait, but in celebration of the manga resolution to the Bourbon Arc, I decided to update again. …Except I had to start over from scratch, because I lost my notes. Again. I'm not very organized.**

xXx

"Given the time since we heard the engine stop, he should be at the door right—" As Kisaki began answering Kaito's question, the magician spotted a figure on the doorstep. Given that he was wearing a motorcycle helmet and carrying something heavy, Kaito became suspicious immediately, and reacted appropriately. He allowed one of his sleeping gas capsules to slip down his sleeve into his hand. He had recently modified the gas to be undetectable by sight, smell, and taste—for emergencies.

His instincts were proven correct when the figure burst through the door, toting a machine pistol. Kaito surreptitiously dropped the capsule and crushed it underfoot as he reached back and shoved Aoko behind his back for protection. He held his breath: after Hakuba's second heist, he had decided it would be worthwhile to develop a larger lung capacity.

The gunman pointed the pistol at Kaito and, by proxy, Aoko. Kaito grimaced. _He's gonna shoot before the gas can have any effect. He'll get me, but…he might pass out before he can shoot Aoko_.

Kaito stood up straight, defiant. He could sense Aoko shaking behind him. He saw the pistol level itself at his head, and saw the gunman's index finger twitch on the trigger.

_Sorry, Aoko_.

Kisaki suddenly collapsed, and Ran followed shortly after. Mouri shouted in surprise, and the gunman was distracted for a split second. Just long enough for a small form to slip through the door behind him….

Kaito grinned in relief at the short figure, almost releasing his breath. The gun was back at his head now, the trigger was being pulled—

A soccer ball smacked the gun out of the man's hand, and the bullet ricocheted off a mirror hanging on the wall behind Kaito's head. The marksman fell forward; Kaito wasn't sure if he was out because of the gas or the soccer ball, but either way, he was no longer a concern. By this time, Mouri had passed out as well, and Conan had nodded to Kaito and stepped back outside to breathe.

That meant…the kid trusted him enough to leave him alone. He knew he was KID. _That begs the question, does he know Kuroba Kaito is KID, or that KID is disguising as Kuroba Kaito?_

He suddenly sensed Aoko fall to the floor. "Aok—!" he shouted without thinking, and clamped his hands over his mouth. _Shit, I can't run out of air now._ _I'll have to be quick. _Kaito retrieved the handcuffs hidden in his pants and latched the unconscious gunman—who was obviously their culprit—to the couch leg. He grabbed the man's gun and dashed outside, struggling to hold onto his last bit of breath.

In his haste, he practically tripped over Conan.

"Oi, baro! Watch where you're going!" Conan complained, rubbing his head.

"Sorry, sorry." Kaito apologized in KID's voice, taking a deep breath.

"I called the police once I realized where the culprit was headed. They should be here soon."

Kaito nodded. "Right. Now if you'll excuse me, I'll be back. I'm going to search this guy for any more weapons, see who he is, and shuttle out your girlfriend's family and Nakamori-san. And the gas shouldn't last that long—this undetectable gas is just a prototype. Then you're going to explain how you're here. Thanks, by the way."

xXx

Conan didn't have to wait long for KID to finish evacuating their allies. When he returned for the final time, he was bearing a second pistol, a knife, and a motorcycle helmet.

"These were that guy's," the thief explained, tossing them in a pile away from the unconscious bodies.

"Did you recognize him when you removed the helmet?"

"Yeah." KID grunted. "Can't believe that bastard went this far."

"Then it could only be that person…" Conan mused, thinking back to his earlier theory.

"_You_ know who the culprit is?" KID stared at the boy in utter shock. "But…you don't even…_HOW? _And come to think of it, how did you get here so fast? I thought you were at the hospital."

Conan smirked. "It's a bit of a long story. But I guess we can start with the fact that I was never at the hospital."

xXx

As soon as the cyclist had opened fire on Hakase's car, the professor had automatically slammed the brakes. The cyclist had driven on, but Conan, who had ducked down and was almost unharmed, grabbed an unconscious Hakuba's phone and called the police and an ambulance. After affirming that no one was seriously injured, Conan informed Haibara that he was going to follow the suspect, ordered her not to tell the paramedics that he was ever there, and took off after the suspect. He knew that when the paramedics got involved, the police would as well, especially if the paramedics thought that there was an injured seven-year-old boy running around Tokyo unsupervised.

After a few minutes he managed to catch up to the culprit, thankfully before he could turn onto another road and lose his pint-sized pursuer. He tailed the culprit for hours, making sure to keep at least one car between them: he didn't want to be spotted. Finally, the man stopped at a house, parked the bike, and entered.

Conan noticed a car in the driveway and immediately darted over to it: there could be clues inside. He first flung open the trunk, which happened to be accidentally cracked. Upon seeing nothing, he returned it to its former slightly cracked position. Next he tried checking inside the car through the windows. That was when he spotted the capsule. He pressed his face to the car window to get a better look at it, lying in the backseat. He recognized it—that was one of KID's flash-bombs, no doubt.

It wasn't an overly difficult leap to deduce that KID had been in the car recently, and it was equally easy to assume that KID had used the car as transport somehow. In that case, he could have easily traveled to the safe house in disguise. But that would mean…the culprit brought KID to the safe house. Was KID working with the culprit? No, Conan immediately dismissed the idea. Then…Conan had spoken to Takagi-keiji on the phone on the way over. Could it be that the person who owned the safe house was the culprit? It seemed to fit: KID, in disguise, could have gone with Nakamori-keibu's daughter to the safe house. So unless this was Nakamori-keibu's car, it belonged to the owner of the safe house, the bodyguard.

Now the important part: what did the bodyguard have against KID?

_Who was present the last time that Princess Anne was in Japan? Who can I call to figure out this guy's identity? Nakamori-keibu? KID himself? I could hit redial on Hakuba's phone._

At that moment, Conan heard a door bang open: the culprit was returning, and he no longer wore his helmet. Conan could clearly make out his face, which meant that if the culprit spotted him…there was no way he would survive.

Conan glanced back at the cracked trunk.

xXx

"From the trunk, I was able to call you, to find out where you were. I was really hoping that we weren't headed to the safe house, so I would have time to warn somebody. But all I had time to do was call Nakamori-keibu. I asked him about the details of the last heist involving the Princess, and asked if there was anyone there fitting the description I had from when I saw his face. That's how I figured out the identity of—oi, are you listening?"

Kaito blinked and refocused his attention on Conan. "Ah, sorry. I was paying attention, it's just…there's this weird feeling I've been getting since we got here. Like we're being watched."

"That's because you are." A female voice spoke from behind the two. Kaito turned and frowned in confusion at the blonde woman who had spoken out. She was straddling a motorcycle and holding a helmet under her arm. She appeared to be a foreigner, and Kaito got the impression that he had seen her somewhere before. He glanced at Conan, and was slightly taken aback at the mix of horror and fury on Conan's face.

"Vermouth," he growled.

"Hey, Cool Guy. I'm here to collect my brother," she smiled threateningly at the boy.

"This Detective Delon guy—the one who tried to kill us all—he's your _brother_?" Conan asked, shocked.

"Adopted," the Vermouth woman explained, and raised a handgun at the two. "And I would appreciate it if you didn't get in my way."


	17. Setting the Stage

**Sorry for the hiatus. If I'm lucky, I may be able to get the final chapters up in the next couple of weeks. For now, here's some filler!**

xXx

"You think we're just gonna back off?" KID growled incredulously, his hands forming fists at his sides. "He tried to _kill_ us! All of us! He's going to jail!"

Vermouth's eyes narrowed. "I was in complete control of the situation. If I wanted any of you dead, I would have ensured it. Now please move."

Conan raised a hand to pull on KID's wrist without looking at the thief. "Do what she says."

"What?" Conan didn't want to see KID's stunned face at Conan's order. "But she—he—"

"I wasn't expecting this," Conan explained resignedly. "We can't stop her. But if we let her go, she won't come after us again."

"Wise as ever, Cool Guy." Vermouth smirked.

KID still refused to yield. "Maybe she won't, but _she's_ not the one who tried to kill us. _Delon_ is. Actually, Delon's tried to kill me _multiple_ times. What's to stop him from having another go at it?"

"Simple," Vermouth explained calmly before Conan had a chance to respond. "I take him from here, to someplace safe for him. Then you tell the police that he was the killer. If he values his freedom, he'll never set foot in Japan again. I'll probably try to hide him in America."

KID changed tack, but continued appealing to Conan. "You—you _trust_ her?"

Conan could tell KID was drawing his own conclusions about the connections between this woman, Kudou Shinichi, and the Black Organization. Conan had mentioned Gin in front of him before, after all, and if KID was smart—which he most certainly was—he could surely make the connection between the alcohol codenames.

"It's…complicated," Conan admitted. No, he did not trust Vermouth—but he did trust his predictions regarding her behavior. She would not touch her Cool Guy or her Angel. Otherwise, she would have impeded their progress before that point—she would have prevented Conan from saving KID from Delon only moments ago. Although, she would likely make no promises about phantom thieves….

Delon had likely used Vermouth as a method to escape should his plan fail. But then…Conan sniffed the air. Was that…gas? From Vermouth's motorcycle? No, the wind was blowing to the west, so the motorcycle was downwind of _them_—not the other way around. Conan peeked over his shoulder, just long enough to spot a scarlet canister hidden behind some bushes. No, she wasn't here for an escape. She was here to finish her brother's work.

Even when it looked like Delon would win, Vermouth still hadn't lit the cabin ablaze. And there could only be one reason.

_Ran_.

She had sacrificed for Ran before. _Calvados_. But the sniper had meant nothing to Vermouth. Conan but his lip: could he count on her to sacrifice her own brother's freedom for Ran? In the span of three seconds, Conan automatically cycled through three plans, all quickly eliminated for their ruthlessness. Use Ran as bait—no. Wake up Delon and force Vermouth to choose—no. Get KID to threaten Ran—no.

Then the fourth plan: lie.

Vermouth was already striding toward the cabin; KID had reluctantly stood down and allowed her to pass.

"He'll kill Ran."

As expected, she turned in alarm, and Conan could sense KID's shock. He looked up, meeting Vermouth's eyes with an intense glare.

"Please," he pleaded as desperately as possible. "Ran really irritated him earlier when she picked up the phone at the Detective Agency, and…he _will_ kill her. Even if he has to return to a country where he's a wanted man. I can't protect her forever—not from someone with his connections and abilities."

Vermouth glared at him. "Well, what do you want from me, Cool Guy? Allowing him to be arrested would be suicide. He would turn on me immediately. I botched a hit for Angel, but I'm not about to sacrifice my freedom for her." She smiled, and there was an odd softness about it. "And I know you: you would never want me to kill him. Though—we never did get along."

As Conan tried to think of a response, his eyes unconsciously darted to the road. Vermouth noticed immediately and arched an eyebrow, smirking.

"Oh, so that's the plan is it? Counting on reinforcements? Well, as my brother tells it, they're all either dead or hospitalized—he didn't stick around long enough to find out—and the police are forbidden from coming anywhere near this place. Although…you must know something I don't." Her expression suddenly darkened. "I'm getting him _now_. I can prevent him from harming Angel."

She entered the house, leaving Conan and KID helpless outside.

xXx

"H-Hattori-kun!"

"Hakuba! 'The hell? Weren' ya jus' in surgery? Ya have less of an excuse ta be out than I do!"

The detectives had literally just run into each other in the hospital hallway, Heiji finally successful at escaping, and Hakuba successful at the same task—only on his first try. They had also both managed to change into their clothes—however ripped and blood-stained they were—an especially impressive feat in Hakuba's case.

"I know who the culprit is!" Hakuba lowered his voice to a whisper. "Come on, we can speak freely once we get out of here."

Heiji nodded, deciding to present his own conclusion later—Hakuba was right about being unable to speak freely. He noticed as they managed their escape—which was relatively easy compared to his attempts to simply escape from his room—that Hakuba was heavily limping.

He decided to point it out once they were completely out of the hospital. "Ya know, ya probably shouldn' a' left. Yer limpin' pretty bad."

Hakuba waved a hand impatiently and he used his other hand to retrieve his phone. "It's unimportant. I need to call Nakamori-keibu and tell him my deductions."

"An' it's 'unimportant' that I'm in the loop, huh?" Heiji grumbled. "In any case, I've got my own deduction."

"Oh, really?" Hakuba raised an eyebrow and returned his phone to his jacket pocket. "We should probably compare results before calling anyone."

Heiji nodded in agreement. "I got Sasaki Ryu."

"I've heard of him," Hakuba admitted. "Isn't he a detective?"

"He was involved in a scam durin' that 'Miracle Land' incident that we keep referrin' ta. 'Cause a' me, Kudou, an' KID, he was sent ta jail fer it. He jus' got out," Heiji explained. "Clearly we didn' arrive at the same conclusion."

"Not even close." Hakuba rubbed his temples. "Jack Connery."

"Oi, is that even a person, or did ya make up an English name jus' so ya could say ya had a suspect?" Heiji deadpanned.

Hakuba bristled. "He was an Interpol agent moonlighting as the same consulting thief that he was charged with capturing. It's a rather long story, but the summary is that he died, and—while he doesn't have immediate family—to any grieving siblings, it _could_ appear that KID was responsible for his death. Though KID clearly tried to save him from falling."

"Well, that settles it," Heiji said confidently. "We'll tell the police that it's Sasaki Ryu."

"Oh, really?" Hakuba frowned. "And why is that?"

"Well, clearly he would want revenge agains' three of us—well, _four_ if he thinks ya were involved, even though it was KID—so it's more likely that he'd go ta such elaborate lengths by killin' all a' us."

"He's been in jail for what—three months? He was a detective—do you honestly think he could snap to that extent, as to attempt to murder so many people?"

"Hey, ya don' know what goes on in prison. I've heard stories, ya know, it can be a real hell—"

"Ahem."

Heiji and Hakuba turned to see, to their mutual surprise, a child approach them from the direction of the hospital.

"Um…hey. What're ya doin' here?" Heiji blinked at the familiar girl. One of the many perils of knowing someone's back-story before actually meeting her: you have no idea how to address her. After pondering it for a beat, Heiji settled on simply following Kudou's lead. "Ah…Haibara?"

The girl raised an eyebrow at him, but didn't seem to mind him calling her that.

"Kudou-kun called me." She raised her small Shounen Tantei communication badge. "He knows who the culprit is, and is going to confront him. Apparently KID's there too. He gave me directions."

Heiji and Hakuba exchanged a bemused, slightly embarrassed look.

"Well…" Hakuba coughed a bit awkwardly as he took the written directions from the girl. "Did Kudou-kun, um, happen to mention the identity of the culprit?"

Haibara shrugged. "A man named Delon, I think."

"I recognize that name." Hakuba handed the directions to Heiji. "I read it in a file when I joined the Kaitou KID Task Force. He was the head bodyguard when Princess Anne visited Japan. Suffice it to say, there was a heist, KID won, Delon lost. Now that I think of it, I think that same princess is in Japan now."

"He musta got demoted 'cause a' that heist!" Heiji shouted. "A' course! Ahou, how could ya not see it before?"

Hakuba glared at him, growling. But before he could respond, Haibara cut in: "Don't feel bad over it. Kudou-kun's in a class all his own."

Heiji wasn't sure whether to be offended by that.

Hakuba took a deep breath, calming himself. "In any case, let's just get some kind of transportation so we can get to this place." He turned to Haibara. "Are you coming?"

She nodded. "If it's a car or bus. But if you manage to find a motorbike, I'll stay here—wouldn't want you breaking the law on my account." She smirked. Heiji wasn't quite sure what she meant by that, but he wasn't about to dwell on it.


End file.
